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BX  9211  .A7  A4  1880 

History  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Argyle  of  the  United 


HISTORY 


Presbytery  of  Irqyle 


IIIEB  PI 


Li 


fill 


mn 


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Ji 


ii 


North  America, 


Associate  and  Associate  Reformed  Predecessors. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  PRESBYTERY. 


HARRISBURG,  PA.  : 

PATRIOT  PUBMSHING  COMPANY. 
1880. 


Preface. 


|]IE  philosopliy  and  attractive  eleganoo  of  popular  history 
will  not  1)0  found  in  the  followino-  work.  Its  design  is 
simply  to  gather  up  and  record,  in  the  briefest  form,  the 
lacts  of  the  past,  before  the  knowledge  of  some  of  these  things 
shall  have  perished  ;  for  the  sources  of  such  knowledge  are  becom- 
ing fewer  every  j'ear.  It  will  serve  its  purpose  if  it  will  help  to 
keep  fresh  the  memory'  of  the  worthy  dead,  and  to  save  the  coming 
historian  of  our  Church  from  some  of  the  labor  and  worry  of  orig- 
inal investigation. 

It  has  been  compiled  mainly  from  the  manuscript  minutes  of  the 
several  Presbyteries  as  contained  in  ten  volumes.  Some  of  these 
old  records  were  kept  in  a  ver}-  peculiar  way,  for  they  frequently 
merely  refer  to  events  and  transactions  without  giving  the  facts 
themselves,  so  that  they  only  notify  the  investigator  of  their  exis- 
tence and  put  him  upon  their  track.  There  are  also  great  gaps  in 
some  of  these  minutes.  These  partially  revealed  facts  have  been 
clearly  made  out  and  the  gaps  filled  np  from  Synodic  records,  bio- 
graphical collections,  as  Sprague's  Annals  and  the  Manual  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  old  magazines,  personal  recollections,  and  b}' 
picking  up  an  item  here  and  another  there  as  the  result  of  an  ex- 
tensive correspondence.  For  valuable  assistance  rendered,  thanks 
are  due  to  man}-,  but  especially  to  the  brethren  of  the  Presbytery, 
to  Dr.  Forsyth,  of  West  Point,  Pr.  Cooper,  of  Allegheny,  Rev. 
J.  T.  Brownlee,  of  "West  Middleton,  Pa.,  Rev.  James  Price,  of 
New  York,  and  Judge  Girson,  of  Salem. 

JAMES  B    SCOULLER. 

Nkwvii.i.k.  I'A.,  Jmio  id,  1880. 


Contents 


C'HAPTEK  I. 


Page. 


Associate,  1 763-1 78"2 — Settlement  of  Argyle — Cambridyo — Salem — 
Hebron — Putnam — Irish  Immigration — Organization  of  the  Asso- 
ciate Church — Dr.  Clark's  Colony — Covenanters  in  Cambridge — 
Burgliers  in  Cambridge — Kinlock's  Mission — Organization  of  a 
Church  in  Cambridge — 3Iixture  of  Burghers  and  Antiburghers — 
Presbyterian  Xeighbors — Oiganization  of  Xew  York  Presbytery,         1-11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Associate  Refokmed,  1782-1803 — Organization  of  the  Associate 
Reformed  Church — Dr.  Clark's  Resignation — James  Proudlit  call- 
ed— Covenanters  and  Seceders  unite  in  Cambridge — John  Dun- 
lap  called  —  KortrJght  —  Stamford  —  Hebron  —  Argyle  —  George 
Mairs — Gahvay — Charlton — Princeton — Florida — .James  JMairs — 
.John  31.  Mason  licensed — Fast-day  controversy — Organization  of 
Washington  Presbytery — William  McAuIey — Alexander  Proud- 
tit — Hebron  and  Argyle  disjoined — Discipline — Visitations — James 
Gray — Missionary  work — Albany — Lansingburg — White  Hall — 
Delhi — Caledonia — Lisbon — Upper  Canada — Broadalbin  —  Jlout- 
real- — Robert  Proudtit — .lohn  Gosman — Thomas  McAuley — Wil- 
liam Mc^Iurray — Ebenezer  K.  jNIaxwell; — James  M.  Matthews- 
Thomas  White — Andrew  Wilson — Robert  Easton — Robert  Sher- 
itt"— John  Burns— Alexander  Denhani — Deacons — Saratoga  Pres- 
bytery set  off — Mcilurrayat  Lansingburg — White  at  White  Hall — 
Canada  and  Vermont- — Doctor  of  Divinity — Centralization — Lis- 
bon's history — Chester  Long — Dunlap's  resignation  —  Lansing- 
burg's  extension — Cambrige  calls  D.  C.  McLaren — George  flairs. 
J.  B,  Steel,  J.  A.  Savage,  students — Opposed  to  the  Union  of  1822 — 
John  W.  Proudtit — ^lalcolm  X.  ^IcLaren — James  H.  Teller — J. 
A.  Savage  and  Fort  Covington — Denliam  leaves  Hebron — >IcLaren 
leaves  Cambridge — William  Taylor — James  3IcAuIey  and  Heb- 
ron— Fort  Covington  translerred — Madrid — Upper  Canada — AV. 
Howden  and  Cambridge — Peter  (xordon  and  West  and  Old  Cam- 
l)ridge — Robert  Thompson — AVilliam  Moore — Alexander  Proud- 
fit — James  II.  Barnes — James  Lillie  and  Salem — Jasper  ^Middle- 


VI  CONTEXTS. 


]'(iyp. 


mass— Oxbow— Alexamler  Proudlit— John  I).  Gibson— Ebeiiezer 
Halley  and  Salem— Middlemass  and  Hebron— Alexander  Sliand 
and  Hebron— Thomas  C.  McLaury  and  Cambridge— John  Donald- 

'j'r"'7r^\i''''f' "'^'"  J^"ke— Thomas  T.  Farrinoton  and  Salem— George 
JVl.  JMcLachron— John  Crawford— James  B.  Scouller  and  Argyle— 
Joseph  Kimball  and  Hebron— John  Anderson— William  White— 
AVilliam  V,.  Shortt  and  Cambridge— William  John  Robinson— John 
Harper— Jonathan  Gillespie— James  C.  Forsyth  and  Salem— G. 
Hamilton  Robertson  and  Hebron— Final  Adjournnient— Why  Con- 
gregations died,  and  Ministers  left  the  Chnrch— List  of  ^linistcrs 
produced,  -------...  1-^-4i> 


CHAPTER    in. 

AssociATK,  1 782-1 S.")')— After  the  Union— Thomas  Beveridge  and 
Cambridge  and  South  Argyle— Barnet  and  Ryegate— David  Good- 
willie— John  Cree— Thomas  Hamilton— John  Banks— Associate 
Synod— Cambridge  Presbytery— Banks  leaves  Cambridge  for 
Florida— Sketches  of  Goodwillie,  A.  Whyte  and  Dr.  Banks— Put- 
nam—Westfield— Andrew  Oliver— Alexander  Bullions  and  Cam- 
bridge—Robert Laing  and  Argyle— John  Mushat— David  French— 
Eaing's  Troubles— Delhi— Alexander  ]\roCleIlan  and  Argyle— Dr. 
Banks  goes  to  Philadelphia— Thomas  Beveridge— Peter  Bullions 
and  Argyle— Joseph  Shaw— Albany— James  Irvine— .James  Mar- 
tin—.Tames  3Iillar  and  Putnam— Thomas  and  David  Goodwillie— 
Sub-Synods  — Salem  — Andrew  Stark  and    New  York— Canada 

West— Mutual  aid— Thomas  Ferrier  and  Ryegate— A  Whyte,  jr. 

Findley  McNaughton— William  Easton— Bullions  and  Albany- 
Peter  Campbell  and  Florida— Hebron  and  Iivine- The  Goodwil- 
lies— Albany  and  Martin  — Tract  Society —  Johnstown — James 
White  and  Salem— James  McGeoch—Russel— Millar  deposed— 
Barnet  and  T.  Goodwillie— York— Whyte,  McNaughton  and  Eas- 
ton licensed— Beveridge  and  Argyle— Russel  and  Canada— How- 
ard—Canada  East— Bullions,  Professor  -pro  ile)^.— Whyte  and  Bal- 
timore—Congregational bounds- William  Pringle  and  Ryegate— 
A.  Gordon  and  Putnam— A.  Mitcliel— Horatio  Thompson— James 
P.  Miller  and  South  Argyle— Xorth  Argyle  and  Duncan  Stalker- 
John  G.  Smart— Albany  Presbytery  erected- David  Gordon  and 
Salem— Abraham  Anderson  and  Hebron— Canada  East— Congre- 
gational  Bible   Societies— Thomas  Gilkerson— Archibald   Reid 

Isaac  Law— J.  W.  Harsha— D.  G.  Bullions— The  Bullions  Trou- 
ble—The Vermont  Presbytery— The  New  Presbytery  of  Cam- 
bridge—The New  Associate  Synod— D.  j\L  Quackenbush  and 
Hebron— A.  Shiland  and  Hebron— D.  G.  Bullions  and  Coila— W. 
E.  Henning  and  North  Argyle— W.  W.  Harsha— Robert  Bur- 
gess—Union of  the  two  Synods— Archibald  Reid  and  Cambridge— 


COXTKN'I'S.  Vll 

J'lKje. 
Isaac  Law  and  t'aiiada— David  CJoidun  and  Trinidad — The  Mis- 
sionary Institute — Canada  Churches — David  W.  French  and  Sa- 
lem— Isaac  Law  and  Putnam — James  McArthur  in  Vermont — 
Moses  Arnot — James  Shankland — Hugli  K.  Luskand  Cambridge — 
James  Ballantine  and  ]Iebron — Joseph  McKee — J.  G.  Austin  and 
Canada — W.  Hawthorne — East  (4reenwicli — Josepli  ]McKirahau — 
John  ]J.  ])unn — (^ueensbury  and  C.  Webster— South  Aryyle  and 
James  T]iomi)son,  and  Joseph  Tliompson,  and  Alexander  Thomj)- 
son,  and  James  A.  Durt'— Dr.  Smart — Sherrington  and  A.  C. 
Stewart — Gilbert  Small — G.  Hamilton  liobertson — Consolidation 
of  the  two  Presbyteries — Henry  Gordon  and  Coila — Hugh  Brown 
and  Salem — Gore — Final  Adjournment — ]\rinisters  trained.   -         -       50-87 

CHAPTER  lY. 

Umted  Pkesuytehiax.  1859-1880 — Argyle  Presbytery  Organized — 
Hawthorne  and  Hemmingsford — Webster  and  Hinchenbrook — St. 
Lawrence  Presbytery — W.  R.  McKee  and  West  Hebron — White 
and  Hebron — Dunn — Hanna — Lawrence  and  Putnam — Reid — 
Randies — W^iley — ]\IcClelian — Telford — G.  31.  Robinson — Ashton — 
J.  H.  Robinson — Fisher — Ure  and  Argyle — Double  Ordination — 
State  of  the  Country — Chaiilains — Orr  and  East  Greenwich — An- 
drew and  South  Argyle — Fisher  and  Hebron — Gladstone  and  East 
Greenwich— Clapperton  and  East  Salem — Cunningham  and  East 
Salem — Wiley  and  West  Hebron — Bigger  and  Putnam — Vermont 
Presbytery — ^Mackenzie  and  Salem — Kane  and  Argyle — Wylie  and 
Hebron — Morris  and  South  Argyle— Galbraith  and  East  Green- 
wich— Hood  and  Hebron — G,  M.  Robinson — Hume — Willard  3Ic- 
Eachron — Peter  Campbell — M.  B.  Williams — ^Ministers  trained  by 
Argyle  Presbytery, 88-9G 

CHAPTEJi   V. 

Sketches  ok  Puesext  Congkegations  —  Salem  —  Cambridge  — 
Coila — South  Argyle  —  I lebron  —  Argyle  —  West  Hebron  —  Put- 
nam— East  Salem — North  Argyle — East  Greenwich,      -        -         -     'JT-LliS 


History  of  the  Presbytery  of  Argyle. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Associate,  1705-1782. 


|U  fat-ilitate  iiiilitarv  movements  ui^aiust  Canada  tlie 
Britisli  (iovernment,  in  1700,  built  three  forts  inwliat 
is  now  Wasliiiigton  county,  ^STew  York.  One  was 
located  about  a  mile  south  of  (xalesville,  another  was  at  Fort 
Edward,  and  the  third  was  near  Fort  Ann.  Settlers  soon  clus- 
tered around  and  within  the  protection  of  these  works,  but 
when  the  AYar  of  the  S})anisli  Succession  was  terminated,  and 
peace  re-estaldished  between  England  and  France,  these  gar- 
risons were  abandoned,  and  the  white  inhabitants,  being  thus 
left  un[irotected,  were  gradually  and  almost  entirel}'  driven 
away  by  marauding  Indians;  so  that,  with  the  exception  ol' 
some  Dutch  families  in  Easton,  the  permanent  settlement  of  the 
€0unty  did  not  in  reality  begin  before  the  year  1760. 

During  the  years  1738-40,  Captain  Laughlin  Campbell 
brought  from  Argyleshire  in  Scotland,  two  ship  loads  of  emi- 
grants who  had  the  promise  of  a  grant  of  land  from  the  Govern- 
ment, as  a  kindly  acknowledgement  to  the  Duke  of  Argyle  for 
his  military  services.  In  this  they  were  disappointed,  and  they 
scattered  and  for  a  time  lived  as  l)est  they  could.  In  1768,  the 
six  surviving  children  of  Captain  Campbell,  together  with  four 
other  persons,  succeeded  in  securing  a  patent  for  ten  thousand 
acres  of  land,  wliich  covered  the  northern  part  of  the  ]:)rescnt 
town  of  CIreenwich  ;  and  on  the  21st  of  May,  1764,  another 
[)ati'nt  for  forty-si^'ven  thousand  four  hundred  and  tiftv  acres, 
ly'iuy:  immcdiatrly  to  the  north  and  covering  the  present  town 


2  ]1IST0UY    (IF    THE 

of  Argylo,  was  granted  to  J^uiicati  Keid,  Neal  Shaw,  Alexander 
McNaugliton  and  Ncal  Gillespie  as  trustees,  for  the  benefit  cf 
the  emigrants  which  had  previously  come  from  Arg3deshire 
and  others  who  proposed  to  come.  After  securing  a  large  farm 
for  c-hurch  [»ur[ioses,  this  grant  was  laid  out  in  one  hundred 
and  forty-one  lots  and  conveyed  to  eighty-three  families  which 
generally  took  possession  during  the  following  year. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  17<:)1,  a  patent  was  granted  to  a  eonr()any 
in  Connecticut  for  thirty-one  tliousand  live  hundred  acres,  sit- 
uated in  the  present  towns  of  Cambridge  and  Jackson,  upon 
the  condition  that  thirty  farms  should  be  \\\\t  under  tillage 
within  three  3'ears.  To  secure  this  grant  thirty  families  from 
Colraine,  in  Connecticut,  were  induced  to  settle  here  by  tlie 
gift  of  a  hundred  acres  to  each,  from  the  proprietors.  It  is 
almost  certain  that  these  settlers,  and  some  others  who  about 
the  same  time  located  on  smaller  patents  in  White  Creek,  were 
natives  of  Ireland  who  had  been  only  for  a  short  time  in  Xew 
England 

In  1761,  James  Turner  and  Joshua  Conkey.  from  Peltham^ 
Massachusetts,  settled  iuk^'alemand  were  joined  the  next  year  by 
Hamilton  McCoUister.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  a  company 
which,  in  1764,  received  a  patent  for  twenty-tive  thousand  acres 
of  land.  One  half  of  this  was  owned  by  a  company  of  ^lassa- 
chusetts  settlers,  and  the  other  half  by  two  government  otfl 
cials.  This  latter  half  was  purchased  in  1765,  by  the  Kev. 
Thomas  Clark,  M.  I).,  for  the  benetit  of  his  Irish  congregation 
Avhich  had  immigrated  with  him  the  previous  year.  This 
grant  was  divided  into  three  hundred  and  eight  lots,  three  of 
which  were  set  apart  for  the  minister  and  the  schoolmaster. 
l)i\  Clark's  parishioners  were  to  receive  their  land  free  for  live 
years,  and  after  that  to  ]jay  a  perpetual  yearly  rent  of  one 
shilling  per  acre.  The  New  Englanders  and  the  Irish  Seceders 
did  not  occupy  different  sections  of  tlie  patent,  but  were  inter- 
mixed, often  on  alternate  farms. 

Hebron  was  partly  settled  l)y  Scotch  Highlanders  of  the 
Heventy-Seventli  Regiment  of  Foot,  to  whom  farms  were  granted 
for  their  services  in  the  French  war. 

Putnam  was  feebly  settled  before  the  Revolution  by  privates- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(iVI.E.  8 

from  the  New  York  [H'ovineiiil  vegiinonts.  All  tlu'se  (littbreiit 
settlements  received  some  {iccossions  before  the  war  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  immediately  after  tliat  they  grew  with  great 
rapidity,  and  mainly  with  those  of  kindred  nationality  and 
religious  faith.  The  remainder  of  tlie  county  was  first  settled 
principally  by  Dutch,  and  by  immigrants  from  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island,  who  contributed  very  little  to  the  membershi]* 
of  the  Associate  or  Associate  Jieformed  Churches. 

The  Sacramental  Test  act  of  1704,  prevented  all  Tresbyte- 
rians  from  holding  office  in  Ireland.  The  repudiation  of  Tres- 
byterial  ordination  in  1G61,  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  vitiateil 
all  official  acts  by  I'l'esbyterian  ministers,  and  brought  great 
distress  and  confusion  into  non-Episcopal  families  in  the  mat- 
ter of  legitimacy  and  inheritance.  The  immemorial  custom  of 
administering  an  oath  in  Ireland  was  l)y  "kissing  the  book,"' 
tliis  all  Seceders  refused  to  do,  and  because  the}^  would  not 
swear  except  with  the  uplifted  hand,  the}^  were  never  allowed 
to  serve  upon  juries  or  to  appear  in  court  as  witnesses.  Fre- 
quently, and  especially  in  the  years  between  1750  and  17G0, 
there  were  bad  harvests  which  brought  actual  famine  into 
some  parts  of  Ireland.  All  these  things  put  together  made  it 
very  desirable  for  Presbyterians  and  especially  for  Seceders  to 
leave  this  over-crowded  island,  and  to  seek  a  home  where  there 
would  be  fewer  annoyances  and  greater  liberty  and  agricultural 
resources.  Just  at  this  time  the  American  C-olonies  Avere 
opening  up  with  great  promise,  and  land  and  immigrant  agents 
were  quite  numerous  who  did  not  allow  the  new  country  to 
suffer  for  want  of  advertisement  and  praise.  The  result  was  a 
great  emigration  of  Irish  Presbyterians  and  Irish  Seceders  dur- 
ing the  latter  half  of  the  last  centur}-,  with  a  little  mingling 
of  Scottish  families,  and  with  this  wave  came  the  Associate  and 
the  Reformed  Churches,  the  antecedents  of  the  present  United 
I ^ resby  ter ian  Ch  u  rch . 

Scotch  and  Irish  immigrants  of  Secession  SA'mpatliies  as  early 
as  1736,  jietitioned  the  Associate  I*resbytery  of  Scotland  for  a 
missionar}',  and  as  they  became  more  numerous  they  became 
more  importunate  in  their  requests.  Finally  in  the  summer  of 
1753,  the  Antiburgher  Synod  of  Scotland  sent  out  Alexander 


4  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Gcllatly  and  Andrew  Arnot,  who  upon  huKling  went  immedi- 
ately to  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Susquehanna  in  Tennsj-lvania, 
and  in  Xoveniher  of  the  same  year  organized  the  Associate 
l*resl)ytery  of  Pennsylvania.  After  organizing  a  number  of 
congregations,  Mr.  Gellatly  settled  at  Octoraro  and  Oxford;  Mr. 
Arnot  returned  home  in  the  summer  of  1754  after  his  place 
had  been  supplied  by  James  Proudfit,  Avho  traveled  for  four 
years  among  the  young  churches,  and  then  settled  at  Pequea.  Iti 
1758,  Matthew  Henderson  came  and  settled  at  Oxford,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  l*encader,  Delaware.  In  1761,  Mr.  Gellatly  died,  and 
John  Mason  and  two  probationers,  Robert  Annan  and  John 
Smart,  arrived,  Mr.  Mason  settled  in  JSI^ew^'ork  city  over  a  con- 
gregation which  had  sent  for  him,  ]Mr.  Annan  settled  at  Marsh 
Creek,  I*ennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Smart,  (grandfather  of  the  late 
Dr.  John  G.  Smart,)  returned  to  Scotland.  In  1763  William 
Marshall,  probationer,  came  and  during  the  following  year  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  J)eep  Run  and  I^eshaminy,  in  Bucks  count}'. 

In  the  summer  of  1761,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Clark,  M.  D.,  ac- 
companied by  a  large  part  of  his  congregation  lit  Ballibay  in 
Ireland,  landed,  and  settled  temporarily  at  Stillwater,  twenty- 
four  miles  north  of  Albany,  ISTew  York,  and  subsequently  moved 
up  to  Salem.  Dr.  CUark  and  his  people  were  connected  with 
the  Burgher  Synod  of  Scotland,  but  not  wishing  to  continue  a 
division  which  could  have  no  grounds  or  signiticancy  in  this 
country,  he  applied  at  once  to  the  Associate  Presbytery  of 
Pennsylvania  Avhich  was  subordinate  to  the  General  Associate 
or  Antiburgher  Synod  of  Scotland.  After  considerable  delay 
and  negotiations  as  to  terms,  he  was  admitted  on  the  second  of 
September,  1765.  These  terms  spread  over  nine  specifications, 
but  virtually  amounted  to  the  simple  agreement,  that  as  botli 
Synods  held  to  the  same  Testimony,  they  would  forget  past 
disagreements  and  work  together  in  peace  and  harmony;  that 
"Ephraim  shall  not  envy  Judah,  and  Judali  shall  not  vex 
Ephraim."  During  the  years  '65  and  '6Q^  Dr.  Clark  got  all  the 
families  of  his  charge  comfortably  located  in  Salem,  then  known 
as  New  Perth,  and  he  continued  as  their  pastor,  for  there  was 
no  new  organization  or  selection  of  pastor.  The  church — pastor, 
ruling  elders  and  members — was  simply  taken  up  as  a  unit  in 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARCJYl.E.  5 

the  tUtliei'laiul  and  placed  here  in  its  new  liomo,  wliere  it 
quickly  took  root,  and  ever  since  has  borne  I'ruitto  the  delight 
and  honor  of  the  ascended  Jesus. 

Dr.  Clark  was  a  man  of  great  zeal  and  activity,  and  did  not 
confine  his  labors  exclusively  to  his  own  congregation,  but 
sought  out  and  soon  found  scattered  settlers,  in  the  surround- 
ing neighborhood,  of  kindred  faith.  To  these  he  brought  the 
same  gospel  which  they  had  known  beyond  the  sea,  and  they  re- 
ceived him  gladly,  and  he  continued  to  visit  them  from  time  to 
time  as  long  as  he  remained  in  Salem.  These  missionary  laliors 
covered  much  of  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  towns  of  Cam- 
bridge, White  Creek,  Jackson,  GreenAvich,  Argyle,  Hebron  ami 
Hartford,  and  were  largely  instrumental  in  laying  tlie  founda- 
tion of  the  nine  United  Presbyterian  congregations  which  now 
cluster  around  the  mother  church  of  Salem. 

The  lirst  settlers  of  the  original  town  of  Cambridge  were 
largely  Irish,  and  evidently  of  divers  ecclesiastical  associations. 
These  that  came  in  first  from  Connecticut  in  1761-3  had  most 
probably  been  reared  in  connection  with  the  Synod  of  Ulster, 
having  left  Ireland  before  the  Secession  had  taken  root  there  ; 
but  it  is  pretty  certain  that  those  who  settled  immediately  after 
these  were  principally  Burghers,  with  a  little  admixtureof  Cov- 
enanters, and  the  subsequent  additions  from  both  Ireland  and 
Scotland  contained  a  good  proportion  of  Antiburghers.  The 
lirst  minister  that  visited  these  immigrants,  according  to  pres- 
ent historical  discoveries,  was  the  Rev.  John  Cuthbertson,  the 
great  Covenanter  missionary,  who  for  many  years  traveled  from 
AVestern  Pennsylvania  to  New  Hampshire,  seeking  out  and 
ministering  to  those  of  kindred  faith.  In  his  Diary  he  men- 
tions a  visit  to  Orange  county,  Xew  York,  in  1759,  where  he 
spent  the  month  of  September  in  missionary  labor  along  the 
Walkill.  In  1764  he  repeated  his  visit  to  this  neighborhood, 
and  then  continued  on  to  Albany,  and  finally  to  Cambridge, 
Avhere  he  lodged  with  Ephraim  Cowan, and  on  Sabbath,  the  19th 
of  August,  preached  and  baptized  Edward,  son  of  William 
Selfridge,  and  Martha,  daughter  of  Oliver  Selfridge.  Phineas 
AVhiteside,  a  Covenanter  Ruling  Elder  of  IVijuea,  Pen!isylva- 
nia,  accompanied   him  in  this  tour.     In  1760,  these  two  again 


6  HISTORY    OF    THE 

visited  C'aiiil)i"i(lge,  and  Mr.  Whiteside  purchased  a  hirge  tract 
of  land  and  remained  there  permanently,  and  many  of  liis  de- 
scendants are  still  residing  there.  In  1769,  Mr.  Cutlibertson 
made  another  and  most  })robably  his  last  visit  to  Cambridge, 
where  on  the  22d  of  October,  lie  ordained  William  Selfridu'e 
and  John  McClung  as  ruling  elders.  Because  there  were  now 
three  ruling  elders  of  the  Covenanter  Church  in  Candn'idge, 
we  must  not  conclude  that  there  was  a  regularlj^  organized 
Covenanter  congregation  there,  for  these  people  had  brought 
with  them  tlie  "Society  system,"  which  prevailed  among  the 
Sons  of  the  Covenant  in  Scotland,  at  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century.  Nearly  every  cluster  of  Covenanters  contained  oneoi- 
more  ruling  elders, and  all  these  clusters  were  confederated  into 
one  general  community.  Conventions  of  delegates  from  all 
these  little  societies  were  held  from  time  to  time,  in  some 
central  location  to  attend  to  the  general  interests  of  the  whole 
conmiunity.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  elders  was  partly  local 
and  partly  general.  A  communion  was  hel'd  once  or  twice 
ever}'  year  in  some  convenient  and  accessible  place  for  the  ben- 
etit  of  all  those  who  could  attend  from  the  difterent  societies. 
The  first  commuiuon  observed  in  this  country  and  indeed  out- 
side of  the  British  Isles,  by  Covenanters,  was  on  the  23d  of 
August,  1752,  at  Stony  Ilidge,  in  Cumberland  count}',  Penn- 
sylvania, and  although  thei'e  was  but  a  handful  of  people  in 
that  "Society,"  yet  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons 
conmiuned.  The  probabilities,  therefore,  are  that  there  was 
not  at  this  time  a  regular  and  formal  congregational  organiza- 
tion among  the  Co\'enanters  of  Cambridge,  and  perhaps  at  no 
subsequent  time. 

But  the  larger  portion  of  the  early  settlers  were  Burgher  Se- 
ceders,  as  the  following  extract  from  McKerrow's  History  of 
the  Secession  Church  plainl}-  shows :  "In  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, 17G5,  an  application  was  received  from  some  of  the  in- 
habitants of  New  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Albany,  ami 
Province  of  New  York,  representing  in  strong  terms  their  des- 
titute condition  with  regard  to  the  gospel,  and  craving  that  the 
Synod  (Burgher)  would  send  them  without  delay,  a  minister 
to  l)reak  among  them  the  l^read  of  life,  at  the  same  time  }irom- 


I'UKSBVTKRY    oF    AIliVI.K.  / 

isiiiii;  t(>  givi'  tlio  jicrson  who  sliould  bo  scut  a  suitable  main- 
tenaiice. 

•'The  Synod  havinii-  taken  this  petition  into  consideration, 
as  well  as  the  ai^plieation  fonuerlv  made  from  Phihrlelphia, 
resolved  to  send  both  an  ordained  minister  and  a  preaelier,  but 
delayed  making  the  appointment  till  the  month  of  November, 
when  they  were  again  to  meet  for  tlie  dispatch  of  business. 

"On  the  12th  of  November  the  Synod  ai)pointed  Mr.  Telfair 
to  go  on  a  mission  to  America  early  in  the  spring,  and  agreed 
to  send  with  him  Mr.  Samuel  Kinloch,  probationer.  They  were 
to  remain  in  America  till  April,  1767,  unless  the  Synod  should 
•see  tit  to  recall  or  extend  their  ap[)oiiitments.  They  were  to 
preach  not  only  in  rhiladelphia  and  New  Cainljridge,  but  in 
any  other  places  wliere  they  might  find  an  opening. 

•'In  ^Fay,  1767,  the  Synod  received  letters  from  the  congre- 
gations in  Philadelphia  and  New  Cambridge,  expressing  their 
Avarmest  thanks  for  the  benefit  they  had  received  from  the 
ministrations  of  Messrs.  Telfair  and  Kinloch,  and  beseeching 
that  the  Synod  would  either  permit  these  brethren  to  continue 
among  them,  or,  should  they  be  removed,  that  others  might  be 
s]ieedil\'  sent  to  supply  their  place.'' 

In  the  early  summer  of  1766,  Messrs.  Telfair  and  Kinloch 
arrived  and  the  former  took  charge  of  the  Burgher  congrega- 
tion in  Shippen  street,  Philadel})hia,while  the  latter  made  New 
Cambridge,  (now  Cand)ridge)  his  headquarters.  Thus  they  re- 
mained supplying  these  two  congregations,  and  attending  to 
considerable  outside  missionary  work,  until  the  year  of  their 
ai»pointment  had  expired  ;  tlien  they  concluded  to  remain  per- 
manently in  this  country, and  made  application  to  the  Associate 
(Antiburgher)  I*resln'terv  of  rennsylvania  for  admission  to 
membership,  and  on  the  9th  of  June,  1767,  the}'  were  received  at 
a  meeting  in  J*equea,  rennsylvania,  U})on  substantially  the  same 
terms  as  those  u[>on  which  Dr.  Clark  had  been  a;lmitted  previ- 
ously. Two  years  after  this,  Mr.  Kinloch  changed  his  mind  and 
returned  to  Scotland,  and  became  and  remained  i'or  many  years 
the  pastor  of  the  Burghercongregation  of  Paisley.  Mr.  Telfair 
remained  till  17(58  and  returned  to  Scotland  and  remmed  his 
charge  at  the  Bridge  of  Tieth,  but  in  1771  he  came  back  and 


»  HISTORY    OF    THE 

remained  as  an  independent  Eurgher,  supplying  the  Ship[.ei) 
street  congregation  in  Philadelphia  till  August  12,  1780,  when 
he  united  with  the  Reformed  (Covenanter)  Presbytery,  and 
Avith  that  Presbytery  came  into  the  union  of  1782,  which 
formed  the  Associate  Eeformed  Church,  and  continued  in  Ship- 
pen  street  till  1788,  and  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1789. 

1^0  records  have  yet  been  discovered  to  show  that  a  congre- 
gation had  been  regularly  and  canonically  organized  during 
this  Burgher  administration.  The  probabilities  are  that  such 
was  not  the  case,  for  Mr.  Ivinloch  was  only  a  licentiate, 
and  soon  after  he  left  the  country,  Dr.  Clark,  of  Salem,  on  the 
19th  of  April,  1769,  ordained  and  installed  a  number  of  ruliiiii' 
elders  in  the  Cambridge  church.  It  w-ould  be  safe  to  regard 
this  as  the  date  of  the  formal  organization  of  this  eono-rega- 
tion. 

Many,  perhaps  a  majority,  of  the  Associate  congregations 
formed  in  this  country  previous  to  1782,  contained  a  mixture  of 
Burghers  and  Antiburghers  with  a  predominance  of  the  latter 
generally.  The  religious  sympathies  and  the  necessities  of  their 
present  surroundings  led  them  to  bury  their  Old  Country  feud 
which  could  have  no  place  or  reason  for  existence  in  their  new 
home.  The  terms  upon  which  Messrs.  Clark,  Telfair  and  Kin-' 
loch  wei-e  received  by  the  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania  sh(nv 
how  anxious  the  ministers  and  the  l^resbytery  were  to  prevent 
any  revival  of  the  Burgher  controversy  in  this  country,  and  t<> 
secure  a  single  and  united  American  Church.  Only  three  dis- 
tinctively Eurgher  congregations  were  ever  gathered  in  tliis 
country:  those  of  Salem,  Shippen  street,  Philadelphia,  and  Cam- 
bridge :  the  others  were  organized  under  Antiburgher  auspices, 
although  the  most  of  them  contained  a  Burgher  element  in  their 
membership.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice  in  passing  that 
of  these  two  wings  of  the  Secession,  the  Burghers  were  uni- 
formly the  more  tolerant  in  si)irit,and  less  denominational  and 
partisan  in  administration.  Account  for  it  as  we  may,  yet 
history  shows  that  in  all  the  unions  consummated  by  these 
parties  in  both  Scotland  and  Ireland,  the  Burghers  were  always 
ready  iirst,  and  that  every  delay  was  the  result  of  Antiburgher 
hesitancy. 


PIIESUYTERV    OF    AlKJVI.i:.  9 

All  the  ministers  of  the  Ameriean  Associate  Church,  (h)\vii 
to  tlio  union  of  1782,  were  born  and  educuted  in  ScotUmtl, 
while  three-tburths  or  even  more  of  the  membership  of  the 
Ohnrch  were  natives  of  Ireland.  It  is  true  that  their  ancestors 
were  nearly  all  from  Scotland,  and  belonged  generally  to  that 
later  migration  which  l)egan  about  1680,  because  of  the  perse- 
cutions of  that  period,  and  continued  for  thirty  or  forty  years. 
They  sympathized  with  the  strictest  part  of  the  Scotch  Kirk, 
and  were  never  disposed  to  hold  much  communion  with  those 
of  less  rigid  views,  and  naturally  fell  in  Avith  the  Secession 
movement.  There  was  an  older  migration  from  Scotland  and 
Kuffland  to  Ireland,  which  connnenced  under  the  first  of  the 
Stuarts,  when  the  Scottish  Church  was  greatly  depressed  and 
partially  demoralized  liy  royal  tyranny.  These  were  organized 
into  the  Synod  of  Ulster,  and  easily  affiliated  with  the  Inde- 
pendents of  England,  and  formed  a  tyi)e  of  ]*resbyterianism 
less  rigid  in  dogma  and  more  liberal  in  goverimient  than  that 
of  Scotland.  They  were  sorely  tried  by  persecution;  iirst  by 
the  Irish  Romanists  until  Cromwell  interposed  in  their  behalf : 
and  after  the  Restoration  by  the  Kew  Irish  l*relacy,  led  l)v 
Jeremy  Taylor,  who  advocated  toleration  in  his  writings  but 
failed  to  exhibit  it  in  his  practice.  The  great  Presbyterian 
Church  of  this  countr}'  sprang  largely  from  this  Irish  Ulster 
element,  and  never  lost  the  peculiar  features  of  its  progenitor. 
Dr.  Joel  Parker  says  of  it:  "The  Presbyterianism  was  that  of 
the  Church  of  Ireland,  and  was  more  flexible  in  its  character 
than  that  of  the  Scottish  Kirk.  It  more  easily  coalesced  with 
the  Congregationalism  of  the  English  Puritans."  The  Synod 
of  Philadelphia,  as  early  as  1724:,  contained  quite  a  number  of 
Scottish  ministers,  and  they,  to  use  the  language  of  Dr.  Miller, 
''were  desirous  to  carry  into  effect  the  sj-stem  of  v/hich  they 
had  been  accustomed  in  all  its  extent  and  strictness."  The 
Ado]»ting  Act  of  1720  (quieted  down  for  a  season  the  collisions 
thus  produced,  but  it  was  only  for  a  season,  for  in  1741  the 
Great  Schism  took  place,  and  the  Synod  of  Xew  ^'ork  was 
organized  in  antagonism  to  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia.  This 
schism  was  healed  externally  in  1758  by  the  union  of  the 
two  Synods,  but  in  IHOl  "A  Plan  of  Union"  was  entered  into 


10  HISTORY    OF    THE 

witl)  tlio  Cougi-eirutioiial  Association  of  Conueeticut  whicli  soon 
bore  its  appropriate  fruits,  and  "oldside"  and  ^  newside,"' 
'•Scotch  party"  and  "Puritan  party"  became  familiar  terms  and 
tlie  "Old  School"  and  the  "Xew  School"  General  Assemblies 
were  organized  in  1838.  These  two  bodies  recently  united  and 
constitute  the  present  great  American  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  early  settlers  that  came  into  the  south-eastern  part  of 
Washington  county  from  is'ew  England,  generally  formed  con- 
gregations in  connection  with  the  American  Presbyterian 
Church.  These  two  classes  of  Presbyterians— Scottish  and 
Auierican — have  thus  lived  side  by  side  for  a  liundred  years. 
They  possess  enough  in  common  to  indicate  that  they  were  of 
the  same  parentage,  and  yet  there  are  differences  sufficient  to 
show  that  they  have  long  been  subject  to  a  different  training 
and  culture.  Habits  of  relio-ious  thouo-ht  and  feelino-  ai'c  to  a, 
large  degree  liereditar}',  and  show  themselves  in  the  posterity 
of  colonists,  when  all  else  that  is  peculiar  has  disappeared.  A 
good  man  will  cherish  his  religious  faith  and  worship  as  his 
dearest  [)Ossession,  they  lie  nearest  to  his  heart,  and  he  will 
necessarily  and  instinctively  instill  them  with  conscientious 
and  loving  diligence  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  children, 
that  they  may  be  made  the  possessors  of  joys  and  riches  beyond 
anything  that  temporal  possessions  can  impart.  Posterity,  un- 
less sul)jected  to  peculiarly  strong  counteracting  influences,  Avill 
exhibit  the  religious  as  well  as  the  physical  features  of  a  long- 
buried  ancestry.  Saving  grace  is  never  hereditar}',  but  the 
means  of  grace,  and  the  forms  of  worship,  and  a  mental  and 
moral  bias  in  their  favor  are  handed  down  from  parent  to  child, 
and  remain  for  ages  as  family  heirlooms. 

The  congregations  of  Salem  and  C-ambridge  remained  for 
several  years  under  the  care  of  the  Associate  l*re3bytery  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  liobert  Annan  of  Orange  county  was  Dr. 
Clark's  nearest  fellow  i)resbyter.  This  Presbytery  soon  found 
it  expedient  to  divide,  and  the  Pi-csbytery  of  New  York  was 
organized  May  i^O,  1776,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  as  an  inde- 
pendent co-ordinate  court,  subject,  like  the  mother  Presbytery, 
to  the  Antiburgher  Synod  of  Edinburgh.  Its  territory  embraced 
Xew  York  and  New  England.     Its  ministerial  meml)ers  were 


IRESBYTEKY    CF    AKOYI.K. 


11 


John  Mason,  Robert  Annan  and  Tlionias  (Mark,  [.astors,  and 
William  Logan  and  Andrew  L'atton,  unsettled,  and  jirobahly 
as  yet  lieentiates.  Fts  fully  organizeil  eongregations  eonsisted 
<)t"  one  in  Xew  York  city,  two  in  Oi'ange  county,  two  in  Wasli- 
ino'ton  county  and  jirobably  one  or  two  in  Xew  England.  This 
l*resl)ytery  was  from  its  very  inci})iency  strongly  in  favor  of 
a  union  with  the  Reformed  Presbytery  so  as  to  make  but  one 
distinctively  Scottish  Presbyterian  body  in  this  country,  and  it 
to  be  entirely  inde[)endent  of  all  foreign  connections,  as  the 
country  had  just  declared  itself  politically  independent.  Terms 
for  such  a  iniion  were  unanimously  adopted  l)y  Presbytery  at  its 
meeting  in  Salem  in  the  spring  of  1780.  The  Reformed  l*res- 
In'tery  unanimously  ado[)ted  similar  terms  about  the  1st  of 
December,  1781,  at  a  meeting  at  Donegal,  Pennsylvania;  and 
June  13,  1782,  a  majority  of  tlie  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania 
did  the  same  at  l*cquea,  i'ennsylvania.  All  these  Presbyteries 
met  in  convention  in  the  house  of  William  Richards,  in  Phila- 
■delphia,  on  theoOth  of  October,  1782,  to  make  arrangements  for 
the  immediate  consummation  of  the  union  ;  and  on  the  fc»llow- 
ing  day  the  Synod  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church  was 
regularly  organized,  with  John  Mason  as  its  moderator. 


12  HISTORY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  II. 

Associate  Reformed,  17S2-18(»2. 

|T  the  iirst  meeting  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Syncxl, 
October  31, 1782,  the  following  members  were  present : 
Of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania^  James 
Proudfit,  John  Rodgers,  John  Smith,  and  "William  Logan,  min- 
isters; Joseph  Miller  and  Thomas  Douglass,  ruling  elders.  Of 
the  Associate  Presbytery  of  New  York,  John  Mason,  D.  D.,  and 
Robert  Annan,  miiusters;  William  McKinley,  ruling  elder.  <)f 
the  Reformed  Presbytery,  John  Cuthbertson,  Matthew  Lind,  and 
Alexander  Dobbin,  ministers;  James  Bell,  John  Cochran,  and 
Dr.  Robert  Patterson,  ruling  elders.  The  most  important  item 
of  business  transacted  at  this  meeting  was  the  consideration  and 
unanimous  approval  of  the  eight  articles  agreed  upon  by  the  Con- 
vention of  October  30, 1782.  These  articles  were  published  under 
the  unsuitable  title  of  "  The  Constitution  of  the  Associate  Re- 
formed Church,"  and  were  long  popularly  known  as  the  "Little 
Constitution."  They  were  fiercely  attacked  in  both  this  country 
and  in  Scotland,  but  since  the  heat  and  smoke  of  battle  liave 
passed  away  it  is  something  of  an  astonishment  to  see,  with 
what  correctness  and  kind  christian  spirit,  our  fathers  were 
able,  amid  tlie  strifes  and  controversies  of  a  hundred  years 
ago,  to  formulate  their  belief  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice. 
One  of  the  earliest  acts  of  this  meeting  of  Synod  was  to  make 
a  new  arrangement  of  its  Presbyteries.  The  Church  was 
divided  into  three  Presbyteries,  and  styled  The  First,  The 
l^econd  and  The  Third.  The  Third  Presbytery  was  made  to  con- 
sist of  John  Mason,  Robert  Annan,  David  Annan  and  Thomas 
Clark,  and  the  congregations  in  New  York  and  the  Eastern 
States.  The  Synod  at  its  meeting  in  May,  1786,  made  a  change 
in  the  names  and  territories  of  the  Presbyteries,  so  that  all 
west  of  the  Susquehanna  River  constituted  the  Presbytery  of 
Pennsylvania;  all  eastern  Penns^dvania  and  the  State  of  [N'ew 


PRESBYTERY    oF    AIUJYLK.  1-3 

York,  the  rrcsbytcry  of  Netr  York  :  and  ^\'\v  Kno-laud  the 
Prcsbyterjj  of  Londonderr)/. 

Dr.  Clark  remained  in  Salem  until  the  spring  of  1782,  when 
he  resigned  and  made  a  visit  to  that  portion  of  his  congrega- 
tion which  came  in  with  him  from  Ireland,  but  separated  from 
him  and  tlie  major  portion  at  New  York,  and  went  South  and 
settled  near  Abbeville,  South  Carolina.  Here  he  remained  for 
about  a  year,  and  then  returned  to  the  North,  and  was  made 
moderator  of  tlieS3-ni)d  which  met  in  i'hiladelphia  in  October, 
1783,  and  then  made  Albany,  Xew  York,  his  head(|uarters  and 
spent  most  of  his  time  in  missionary  work.  During  the  sum- 
mer of  1786,  he  again  visited  the  South  and  settled  down  per- 
manently in  a  pastorate,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  bring- 
ing much  of  the  Scottish  and  Irish  Dissenting  population  of  that 
section  of  the  eountry  into  the  Associate  Reformed  Church, 
which  resulted  in  the  organization,  Feliruary  24,  1790,  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia, 
at  Cedar  Springs,  South  Carolina. 

The  church  in  Salem  took  immediate  measures  for  the  procur- 
ing of  another  pastor  which  issued  in  calling  and  securing  the 
services,  in  October,  1783,  of  the  Rev.  James  Troudfit,  who  had 
been  for  twenty-live  years  pastor  in  re(|uea,  Rennsylvania. 
His  installation  was  long  delayed.  About  this  time,  just  after 
Great  Britain  had  recognized  the  independence  of  ourcountr}', 
population  began  to  pour  into  AVashington  county  Avith  great 
ra}iidity^  and  mostly  from  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  all  the 
Associate  Reformed  congregations  and  missionary  stations 
greatly  profited  thereby. 

The  little  "Society"  of  Covenanters  in  Caml)ridge,  composed 
of  the  Whitesides,  the  Selfridges,  the  McClungs,  the  Cowans, 
the  Clarks,  (Sec,  were  always  friendly  towards  the  union  move- 
ment, and  when  the  union  was  consummated  in  17S2,  they 
coalesced  with  the  Associate  congregation  of  the  same  town. 
This  with  other  accessions  from  the  Old  Country  made  the 
congregation  quite  strong,  perhaps  as  numerous  as  it  has  ever 
been,  for  the  call  wliich  they  gave  in  1780  to  ^fr.  Snodgrass 
was  signed  by  a  hundred  and  seventy-four  male  members. 
After  three  successful  eftbrts  to  procure  a  pastoi-,  dohn  Dunlap, 


14  HISTORY    OF    THE 

lately  lit'eiised  by  the  I'rcsbytery  of  Xew  York,  was  ordained 
and  installed  .June  22,  1791,  as  tlie  tirst  pastor  of  Cambridge. 

The  missionary  Held  within  the  bounds  of  Presbytery  was 
very  inviting  and  a  large  number  of  eongregations  could  have 
been  organized  if  there  had  been  an  adequate  su))i)ly  of  minis- 
ters. The  few  settlers  who  had  gone  into  J)elaware  eounty 
previous  to  the  Revolution  very  generally  abandoned  their  homes 
during  the  war,  because  of  the  depredations  committed  by  the 
Indians.  But  when  peace  returned  the  most  of  these  fugitives 
(tame  back,  and  were  soon  followed  by  others  from  Xew  Eng- 
land and  from  Scotland.  The  Scotch  pretty  generally  a[»plied 
to  the  Associate  Reformed  Church  in  1790  for  word  and  (U'di- 
nance,  and  a  large  congregation  was  formally  organized  in 
December,  1792,  which  was  scattered  among  the  hills  of  the 
towns  of  Ilarperstield,  Kortright,  and  Stamford.  There  was 
but  one  organization,  and  there  was  but  one  Session  for  the 
whole,  although  there  Avere  at  hrst  three  and  afterwards  two 
])laces  for  preachi-ng  This  unity  continued  until  the  25th  of 
Sejitember,  1805,  when  at  their  re(piest,  the  Rresb3'tery  separ- 
ated Kortright  and  Stamford,  and  divided  the  members  of 
Session  between  the  two  places,  assigning  to  the  former  Elders 
James  Rose,  Hugh  Sloan,  Armstrong  McMorris,  Thomas  Mc- 
Chiughrey  and  Alexander  Lisle,  jr.,  and  to  the  latter  Alexan- 
der Lisle,  sr.,  Robert  Wool,  Hugh  Rose,  James  McFarland^ 
Adam  Ividsie,  John  Grant  and  Alexander  McKee. 

The  missionary  work  which  Dr.  Clark  commenced  and  dames 
Proudiit  and  John  Dunlap  laboriously  continued  in  Argyle  and 
Hebron  in  Washington  county,  resulted  in  the  organization,, 
in  the  autumn  of  1792,  of  a  strong  congregation  in  each  of  these 
places.  They  were  associated  as  a  united  charge  and  the  Rev. 
(leorge  Mairs,  late  pastor  of  the  Burgher  congregation  at 
Cootehill  in  Ireland,  was,  on  the  13th  of  November,  1798,  in- 
stalled over  them  as  pastor. 

Quite  a  number  of  Scotch  and  Irish  families  settled  both  be- 
fore and  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  among  the  Dutch  and 
Germans  in  that  region  of  country  which  lies  to  the  north- 
Avest  of  the  city  of  Schenectady,  and  in  which  the  four  coun- 
ties of  Fulton,  Saratoga,  Montgomery  and  Schenectady  now 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AROYLE.  15 

corner.  Tlioy  early  ap[>lie(l  to  the  Associate  Jleioriiied  Church 
for  a  supply  of  jin^aching,  and  were  formed  in  17'.'2  into  four 
con  ii;regat  ions,  viz:  Gal  way,  Charlton,  Corry's  13iish  (Prince- 
town)  and  Ramson's  IJush  (Florida.)  All  four  were  united 
into  one  charge  and  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  dames  ^[airs,  im- 
mediately after  the  arri\-al  of  the  two  brothers  from  Ireland. 
He  acce|)ted  and  was  installed  as  pastor  on  the  ]!Hh  of  Fehru- 
ai-y,  1794.  This  arrangement  did  not  last  long,  for  ti;e  work 
was  altogether  too  laborious  for  the  minister  and  not  satisfac- 
tory in  its  results  to  the  people.  In  answer  to  a  mutual  peti- 
tion. Rresbytery,  May  6tli,  1795,  divided  the  charge,  and  released 
Mr.  Mairs  from  all  pastoral  relation  to  Princetown  and  Florida, 
and  appointed  his  whole  time  to  Galway  and  Charlton.  It 
may  be  mentiotied  here  for  sake  of  the  connection,  that  Prince- 
town  in  a  few  3'ears  disappeared  from  the  roll  of  Presbytery, 
liaving  atliliated  eUewhere;  and  that  Florida  continued  for  a 
number  of  years  as  a  vacancy,  receiving  occasional  supplies, 
but  like  all  congregations  so  situated  grew  less  through  starva- 
tion and  was  finally  absorbed  1)}'  stronger  and  healthier  sur- 
I'oundings. 

At  a  meeting  of  Presbytery  held  in  Cambridge,  November 
lotli,  1792,  "The  Moderator  (James  l*roudlit)  reported  that  he 
had  been  informed  that  T.  C.  vSmith  of  Little  Britain,  with 
Messrs.  R.  Annan  and  John  Smith  of  the  Presbytery  of  I'enn- 
sylvania  had  taken  Mr.  John  M.  Mason,  student  of  divinity, 
on  trial,  and  had  licensed  him,  and  put  him  under  the  care  of 
this  Presbytery."  This  licensure  was  not  an  act  of  Presby- 
tery, but  simpl}'  of  a  Council  of  Ministers.  Mr.  Mason  was 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  I^resbytery  in  Xew  York,  April 
17,  1798,  on  a  salary  of  a  thousand  dollars. 

In  theautunni  of  1793,  the  Session  of  J.  M.  Mason's  church 
in  Xew  York  city  resolved  to  lay  aside  the  observar^ce  of  fast 
days  and  thanksgiving  days  in  connection  with  the  Sacrament 
of  the  Supper.  Against  this  action  a  remonstrance  from  some 
members  of  the  congregation  was  laid  before  Presbytery  at  its 
meeting  in  Galway,  F'ebruary  19,  1794.  After  considerable 
discussion,  the  matter  was  postponed  until  the  next  meeting 
which  took  place  in  Xew   York,  May  14,  1794.     The  Rev.  G. 


|r  IIISTORV    OF    THE 

Mail's,  who  could  not  attend  this  nioetincr,  sent  a  letter  disaj)- 
proving  of  the  action  of  the  New  York  Session.  A  jiaper 
from  Galway  and  C-harlton  congregation,  and  another  from 
memhers  of  Air.  Mason's  congregation  were  received  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  omitting  of  "the  days."  After  considerable  contro- 
versy and  various  motions,  it  was  finally  resolved,  "that  after 
mature  deliberation  and  consideration  of  the  various  views 
which  are  entertained  by  numbers  of  their  seriou.s  people  re- 
lative to  the  observances  which  have  generally  accompanied 
the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  earnestly  recommend  mu- 
tual forbearance  and  aftection,  and  leave  to  the  different  Ses- 
sions to  act  in  this  matter  as  they  conceive  the  will  of  the  Lord 
to  be  revealed  in  his  Word,  and  explained  by  the  Directory  and 
the  act  of  Synod." 

Mr.  J.  Mairs  protested  against  this  and  appealed  to  Synod. 

Messrs.  Mairs  and  Mason  were  appointed  a  committee  to  }»re- 
})are  a  recommendation  of  mutual  forbearance  to  the  different 
congregations,  and  reported  the  following,  which  ^^■as  unani- 
mously adopted : 

"The  Presbytery  anxious  to  promote  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  church  committed  to  their  care,  Avarmly  recommend  to 
the  several  Sessions  and  congregations  the  exercise  of  mutual 
eandoi-  and  forbearance  in  things  doubtful,  and  particularly 
recommend  this  christian  spirit  with  regard  to  any  difference 
of  opinion  that  may  now  divide  them,  that  all  things  may  be 
done  to  edifying,  and  that  brotherly  love  may  continue.  ' 

PKESBYTEKY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  Associate  Reformed  Synod  at  its  meeting  at  Marsh  C-reek, 
Pennsylvania,  June  1,  1794,  passed  an  act  to  divide  the  I'resby- 
tery  of  New  ^'ork,  in  which  it  was  provided  that  James  Proud - 
lit,  George  Mairs,  John  Dunlap  and  James  Mairs  should  con- 
stitute a  new  l.'resbytery  to  be  called  the  Presbytery  of  Wash- 
ington, and  that  the  dividing  line  should  be  fixed  by  mutual 
agreement  between  the  two  Presbyteries.  It  was  subsequently 
settled  that  a  line  running  due  east  and  west  through 
Esoi)Us  on  the  Hudson  river  should  constitute  the  dividing  line 


I'HESin'TKllV    ol"    AlHiVI.!;.  li 

aiul  that  all  the  territory  ycmth  of  this  liiu'  should  \)i-  uu.ler 
the  su})c'rvision  ot"  Xcw  ^'o^k,  and  all  north  under  the  eare  of 
the  rresbytery  of  AVashington. 

In  accordance  with  this  act  the  L'l'eshytery  of  Washiuiiton 
was  formerly  organized  in  Hebron  on  the  14th  of  duly,  17!>4. 
I'resent,  James  Proudfit,  (4eorge  Mairs,  John  Diinla[»  and 
James  Mairs,  ministers;  dohn  Rowan,  of  Salem,  Samuel  C-ros- 
sett,  of  Hebron,  and  George  Barljer,  of  C^ambridge,  ruling  elder-;. 
Afr.  Proudtit,as  senior  minister  constituted  the  Presbytery  with 
l)rayer,  after  wdiich  dohn  1  )unlap  was  chosen  as  Stated  (Merk, 
iiuddamcs  Mairs  as  Moderator. 

( )n  the  2d  of  Septend)er  the  i'resbytery  had  a  called  meeting 
tn  consider  the  a}>plication  for  membership  of  the  Re\'.  AVilliam 
AlcAuley,  late  pastor  of  the  Burglier  congregation  of  TuUiallan 
in  Ireland  and  nephew  of  the  Kev.  Messrs.  Mairs.  lie  was  not 
only  gladly  received,  but  Presbytery  spent  some  time  in  special 
thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  aC([uisition.  Mr.  McAnley  soon  re- 
ceived a  call  from  the  united  congregation  of  llarpersfield, 
Korti'ight  and  Is'ew  Stamford  in  Delaware  county.  This  eall 
he  accepted  and  was  installed  in  the  pastorate  on  the  25th  of 
June,  1795,  and  so  remained  for  tifteen  years,  and  then  continued 
with  the  Kortright  branch  until  his  death,  March  24,  1851. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  1704,  Alexander  Proudtit,  son  of  the 
l\ev.  James  Proudfit,  was  licensed  as  a  prol)ationer  for  the  min- 
istry, and,  on  tlie  13th  of  the  following  May,  was  ordained  and 
installed  as  the  colleague  and  successor  of  his  father  in  Salem. 
This  was  the  first  collegiate  [>astorate  in  tlie  Associate  lieforraed 
Ohureh,  and  with  it  "vvas  introduced  a  new  and  very  question- 
able custom,  that  of  the  congregation  being  represented  in 
Presbytery,  and  in  Synod,  by  two  ruling  elders,  l)ecause  there 
were  two  pastors.  Such  a  custom  could  be  based  upon  no  other 
ground  than  that  the  elder  was  not  the  representative  of  the 
congregation,  but  merely  a  lieutenant  or  assistant  or  part  ot 
the  retinue  of  the  }>astor.  And  3et  this  and  the  Argyle  and 
the  Kortright  collegiate  pastorates  down  to  tlu-  year  1S51.  \vere 
thus  represented  in  both  Presbytery  and  Synod. 

Presbytery  in  these  early  <lays  was  vcvy  liberal  in  its  suppi}' 
of  services  upon  all  special  occasions.  It  was  the  uniform  cns- 
2 


18  mSTOUY    <»F    THE 

toiii  at  iiistiiUations  to  have  u  sermon,  tlien  the  iiistalhitioii  ex- 
ercises, and  after  that  a  second  sermon,  and  all  without  any  in- 
termission. And  in  no  part  of  the  service  was  the  minister  in 
the  habit  of  making  brevity  a  special  study.  It  was  thus  because 
tlie  people  liked  to  have  it  so.  They  were  sometimes  destitute  of 
religious  privileges  and  frequeiitly  vacant  and  disappointed,  and 
had  generally  a  keen  a[)petitc  for  their  spiritual  provisions,  and 
were  willing  to  wait  patiently,  for  they  enjoyed  it.  In  matters 
of  this  kind  the  puliiit  is  very  apt  to  reflect  tlie  wishes  of  the 
[lews. 

Each  of  the  churches  in  Argyle  and  in  Hebron  felt  able  and 
willing  to  have  all  of  the  time  of  a  pastor,  so  they  petitioned 
Presbytery,  Decembei',  16, 1794,  to  be  disjoined,  and  to  leave  it 
with  their  pastor  to  decide  with  which  congregation  he  will 
remain.  Presbytery  granted  the  petition,  and  Mr.  Mairs  chose 
the  Argyle  church,  and  there  he  remained  till  the  11th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1841,  when  he  died. 

It  was  the  custom  for  Sessions  eighty  or  a  hundred  years  ago  to 
refer  nearly  all  their  cases  of  discipline  to  Presljytery,  where  they 
were  issued  as  by  a  court  of  original  jurisdiction.  The  Session 
merely  formulated  the  charges  and  collected  the  testimony. 
]\Iuch  of  the  time  of  Presbytery  was  taken  up  with  such  busi- 
ness, and  as  a  general  rule  the  work  was  faithfully-  and  con- 
scientiously done.  The  punishment  imposed  would  be  deemed 
at  the  present  time  as  being  often  excessive.  The  following 
record  in  the  year  1794  is  a  fair  specimen  of  what  they  diil  : 
'After  dealing  solemnly  with  the  person's  conscience,  she  was 
rebuked  and  referred  back  to  the  Session,  which  is  enjoined  to 
labor  to  bring  her  into  a  deeper  sense  of  her  sin,  to  rebuke  her 
in  the  face  of  the  congregation,  and  to  absolve  her  when  found 
expedient."'  It  is  perhaps  true  that  Presbytery  as  a  rule  pre- 
served a  just  and  iair  relation  between  crimes  and  penalties,  for 
as  a  general  thing  the  crimes  which  came  before  it  for  adjudica- 
tion where  those  of  the  grosser  kind,  such  as  characterized  new- 
settlements  and  a  rude  mode  of  life,  where  no  great  ]irogress 
had  been  made  in  the  refinements  of  social  culture.  In  mea- 
suring out  the  degree  of  punishment,thc  state  of  society  should 
b6  considered,  for  what  would  be  alequate  under  some  circum- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(JYLE.  19 

stances  would  1)3  iiHufti 'ieul.  imder  otheiv«i.  Ono  thimr,  how- 
ever, can  bo  said  to  the  credit  of  our  fathers,  they  indulii:ed  in 
no  sickl}'  sentimentality,  or  mawkish  sympathy  with  transgres- 
sors. 

The  Presbytery  exercised  very  c.)mmendal)le  vio-ilance  in 
watching  over  the  condition  and  progress  of  its  congregations 
and  over  the  general  morality  of  the  community.  In  doino- 
tliis  frequent  itresbyterial  visitations  were  made  to  the  different 
churches,  and  these  were  not  mere  matters  of  form,  for  they 
were  decidedly  inquisitorial  and  faithful  in  their  oi)crations, 
commending  the  good  and  censuring  the  evil.  J*resbyterial 
fa-^ts  were  often  enjoined  and  observed  with  great  strictness; 
the  Legislature  was  memorialized  for  additional  laws  for  the 
better  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath.  Everything  that  could 
be  thought  of  was  done  for  the  advancement  of  religion  and 
public  morality. 

These  things  were  not  i)eculiar  to  the  Associate  Reformed 
Presbytery  of  Washington,  for  when  the  Associate  l*resby- 
tery  of  Cambridge  was  organized  it  entered  at  once  upon  a 
similar  course  of  procedure,  showing  that  this  kind  of  culture 
sprung  from  the  i-)articular  character  of  the  religion  which  both 
Presbyteries  were  alike  eipially  anxious  to  promote.  Indeed  it 
was  impossii)le  for  any  one  outside  of  their  communion  to 
distiniruish  in  the  slightest  degree  between  the  members  and 
actions  of  these  bodies.  It  was  only  by  the  aid  of  certain  shib- 
boleths known  to  them-;elves  that  they  were  able  to  keep  sepa- 
rate and  distinct. 

On  tlie  20th  of  Septembar,  1797,  James  Gray,  i)rol)ationer, 
was  received  from  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Armagh,  (Bui-- 
gher,)  Ireland.  On  the  11th  of  the  following  October,  he  re- 
ceived and  accepted  a  call  from  the  congregation  in  Hebron, 
and  was  there  ordained  and  installed  May  1(5,  179S.  This  re- 
lation was  dissolved,  October,  2(),  1803,  in  consequence  of  Mr. 
Gray's  accei)tance  of  a  call  to  tlie  Spruce  street  congregation  in 
Philadelphia. 

Between  1790  and  1800,  (piite  a  number  of  communities 
lately  settled  and  yet  destitute  of  religious  jtrivileges,  applied 
to  this  Presbytery  for  a  supply  of  preaching.     Many  of  these 


20  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Holds  were  good  and  promised  success,  but  the  I'resbytery  had 
not  the  ministerial  force  with  which  to  cultivate  them  properly, 
although  each  pastor  gave  at  least  the  one-eighth  of  his  time 
to  such  missionary  Avork.  A  number  of  these  received  occa- 
sional supply  for  ten  years,  but  never  organized,  and  were  event- 
ually absorbed  by  other  denominations  which  became  fixed  and 
strong  in  their  neighborhood.  These  places  were  mostly  in 
Albany  and  ^Saratoga  counties  and  westward,  such  as  Stillwater, 
Xew  Scotland,Onis  Kethau,Warrentown,  Schenectady,  Manlius, 
Cayuga,  Homer,  &c.  There  was  another  class  of  mission  stations, 
which  regularly  organized  and  clung  for  a  long  time  to  the 
Presbytery,  and  after  all  were  compelled  to  affiliate,  from  the 
same  causes,  with  other  organizations,  as  Milton,  Scipio  and 
Aurelius,  in  all  of  which  ruling  elders  were  ordained  in  1799 
by  Mr.  Dunlap. 

This  was  indeed  the  planting  time  of  the  I'resbytery,  wlien 
a  number  of  jtermanent  churches  were  founded.  Mr.  Cuthbert- 
son  visited  Albany  in  the  summer  of  1764,  and  wherever  he 
tarried  he  preached,  whether  it  was  week  day  or  Sabbath.  Dr. 
Clark,  after  he  left  Salem,  made  Albany  to  a  certain  degree  his 
headquarters  during  1784  and  "5,  and  he  never  suffered  his 
light  to  be  put  under  a  bushel,  so  that  we  may  infer  that  the 
gospel  was  preached  by  this  Presbytery  in  Albany  at  an  early 
day.  Still  there  is  no  record  upon  the  minutes  of  the  Presb}-- 
tery  to  show  that  this  city,  the  capitol  of  the  State,  was  recog- 
nized as  a  mission  station  or  received  a  supply  of  preaching 
before  May  2,  1797.  On  the  second  Sabbath  of  January,  1800, 
a  church  was  regularly  organized  here,  when  ruling  elders  were 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  Rev.  James  Mairs.  On  the  2d 
of  May,  1797,  Lansingburg  askyd  and  obtained  a  supply  of 
preniching,  and  the  llev.  George  Mairs,  in  the  third  week  of 
July  1799,  organized  a  church,  ordained  elders  and  disjiensed 
the  Lord's  Supper.  May  6,  1795,  AVhitehall  asked  for  preach- 
ing and  was  afterwards  regularly  supi)lied,  although  an  organ- 
ization did  not  take  place  for  many  years.  In  1799  Delhi  asked 
for  supply,  which  was  granted  and  a  church  was  organized  in 
the  winter  of  1807-8.  In  1802  Caledonia  made  the  same  re- 
quest, and  a  church  was  organized  there   in  1810.     About  the 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AROYLE,  21 

same  timo  applioatioii  was  made  by  some  wlio  lia  1  emigrated 
from  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Seneca,  Ontario 
county,  and  a  church  was  organized  there  in  1807,  During  the 
years  1801  and  2,  a  considerable  number  of  families  from  Salem, 
Hebron  and  Argylc  settled  in  the  town  of  Lisbon  in  St.  Law- 
rence cHnint}^  and  at  a  public  meeting,  JSTovember  15,  1802,  re- 
solved to  place  themselves  under  the  care  of  their  old  Presby- 
tery. On  the  9th  of  February,  1803,  Mr.  Forrest  was  appointed 
to  supply  them  in  March  and  A}>ril,  and  Mr.  George  Mairs 
during  September.  On  the  23d  of  June  1803,  they  procured  a 
legal  incorporation  as  a  religious  society,  although  they  were 
not  ecclesiastically  organized  till  April  18,  1805,  when  six 
elders  were  ordained  who  had  been  elected  the  previous  I^ovem- 
ber.  This  was  the  tirst  church  of  any  kind  organized  in  the 
county.  Several  places  in  Upper  Canada  as  early  as  1800  asked 
for  supply  of  preaching,  and  in  1803  cliurches  were  organized 
in  Stamford,  Bertie,  and  two  or  three  other  places  in  the  same 
section  of  country.  Broadalbin  and  Galwa}-  were  largely  settled 
by  Scotch  who  came  there,  some  before  and  others  soon  after 
the  Revolutionary  War.  They  were  organized  into  two  socie- 
ties, one  in  Broadalbin,  the  other  in  West  Gal  way,  between 
1785  and  1790,  and  were  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Albany  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  They  were  united  in  one 
charge  and  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  were  ministered  to 
by  an  Irish  licentiate.  At  this  time  the  Society  of  West  Gal- 
way,  under  the  inilucuce  of  a  non-Scottish  element,  introduced 
Watt's  Psalms  and  Hymns  as  the  matter  of  their  praise,  to 
which  they  added  a  choir.  The  result  was  a  rupture  with  tlie 
other  branch  of  the  charge,  and  Broadalbin  in  conjunction 
with  some  families  in  Amsterdam  similarly  situated,  applied, 
July  2,  1800,  to  be  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Associate  Re- 
formed J'resbyter}'  of  Washington,  which  was  promptly  done. 
June  22,  1803,  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  congregation  of  St. 
Pliilip's  Street  in  Montreal,  Canada,  was  received  under  the 
care  of  the  Presljytery.  The  reasons  for  this  )novement  are 
nowhere  stated. 

While  the  demands  ui)on  the  Presbytery  were  thus   inulti- 
ItlyiuiT,  its  resources  were  also  increasing.     Robert  Proudtit  of 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


York  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  received  November  12, 1800,  as 
a  student  of  theology,  to  pursue  his  studies  under  the  supervi- 
sion of  his  cousin,  Alexander  Proudfit  He  was  licensed  April 
20,  1802.  John  Gosnian  of  Is^ew  York  was  similarly  received 
on  the  9th  of  April,  1802,  and  was  licensed  September  25  1804. 
Thomas  McAnley,  brother  of  Rev.  William,  was  received  April 
9,  1802,  as  a  literary  student,  and  sent  to  Union  College  at  the 
ex[)tt^ise  of  Presbytery,  and  on  the  17th  of  May,  1804°  was  re- 
ceived as  a  student  of  theology;  having  become  a  tutor  in 
Union  College,  he  gave  up  the  study  of  theology  in  1806. 
AYilliam  McMurray  of  Salem  was  received  as  a  student  of  the- 
ology May  17,  1804,  and  after  studying  under  Dr.  Mason  was 
licensed  June  20,  1809.  Ebenezer  IL  Maxwell  of  Galway  was 
received  as  a  student  of  theology  May  7,  1805,  went  to  the 
Seminary  in  New  York,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  uf 
Saratoga.  James  M.  Matthews  of  Salem  was  rec3ived  as  a 
student  of  theology  in  1803  or  '4,  but  w^as  transferred  to  tiie 
I'resbytery  of  Xew  York  for  licensure.  Thomas  White  was 
also  received  as  a  student  of  theology  March  2,  1808,  and  was 
licensed  on  the  same  day  Avith  Mr.  McMurray. 

Albany,  in  May,  1800,  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  Alexander 
I'roudiit,  which,  for  prudential  reasons,  the  Presbytery  refused 
to  sustain  and  present. 

On  the  23d  of  February,  1802,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Wilson, 
late  of  Crieve,  Ireland,  was  received.  The  following  week  he 
received  a  call  from  the  united  congregations  of  Albany  and 
Lansingburg,  which  he  accepted,  and  on  the  20th  of  April  was 
installed  therein.  April  19,  1804,  Lansingburg  was  disjoined 
frDm  Albany,  and  Mr.  Wilson  gave  all  his  time  to  the  latter, 
wliere  he  remained  till  the  8th  of  September  1807,Avhen  he  re- 
resigned  and  returned  to  Ireland. 

Stamford  and  its  connections  in  Canada  gave  a  call  in  the 
iiutumn  of  1803  to  Robert  I'roudfit,  which  he  declined.  Soon 
after  this  he  received  a  call  from  Broadall)in,  which  was  ac- 
cepted, and  he  was  ordained  and  installed  April  18,  1804. 

On  the  1st  of  July  1803,  the  Rev.  Robert  Easton  was  re- 
ceived from  the  Presbytery  of  Ncav  York,  and  in  the  following 
spring  he  received  a  call  from  the  St.  Philip's  Street  congreo-a- 


iniESBYTEUV    OF    ARCVl.E.  "2'^ 

turn  ill  Montreal,  Caiiadii.  This  call  lie  accepted,  and  ininie- 
<liately  took  charge  of  tlie  clinrch,  althouiidi  no  time  was  ap- 
]iointed  for  his  installation. 

Robert  Sheriff  was,  October  21*.  1802,  received  as  a  student  of 
tlieology,  and  after  studyiiig  under  its  care,  and  delivering  the 
usual  trial  discourses,  it  was  resolved,  February  29,  1804. 
'•That  as  Mr.  Sheriff  has  been  formerly  license  I  by  another 
I'resbytery,  and  has  given  general  satisfaction,  the  Tresbytery 
now  recognize  him  as  a  licentiate  under  their  care,  and  as 
such  give  him  appointments  to  preach  tlie  gospel."'  He  re- 
ceived a  call  from  Lisbon,  October  26, 180-i,  which  he  accei)ted, 
and  was  ordained  on  the  7th  of  February,  1805,  and  installed 
<)n  the  14th  of  the  following  June.  He  remained  here  till  the 
2d  of  March  1808,  when  he  resigned  and  i.assed  to  Canada, 
where  he  died  in  the  summer  of  1822. 

In  May,1804,the  Rev.  J.  Burns,was  transferred  by  Synod  from 
the  Presbytery  of  Xew  ^'ork  to  the  Presbytery  of  Washington, 
and  during  the  following  winter  he  received  a  call  from  Stamford 
and  Bertie  in  Canada,  which  was  accepted,  lie  entered  im- 
mediately upon  his  duties  there,  although  his  installation  did 
not  take  place,  because  of  failures  on  account  of  the  distance, 
till  September  18,  1806. 

Ill  the  summer  of  1804,  llelu'oii  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev. 
Robert  Kerr,  which  was  declined.  In  the  spring  of  1806  an- 
other call  was  given  to  the  Rev.  Alexander  Denham  of  the 
J'resbytery  of  I^ew  York.  He  accepted  this  call,  united  with 
the  Presbytery  on  the  22d  of  July,  and  was  installed  on  the  2od 
of  the  following  Octolier. 

Mr.  Gosman  preached  nearly  all  the  time  from  his  licensure 
till  1807,  in  Lansingburg,  and  then  went  to  New  York,  and  so(>n 
afterwards  passed  to  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church. 

After  a  year's  effort,  Mr.  James  Mairs  succeeded,  March  4. 
1806,  to  get  the  Presbytery  to  enjoin  all  the  congregations  to 
ordain  deacons.  Put  as  the  churches  could  not  see  the  neces- 
sity for  such  officers,  situated  as  they  were,  not  more  than  one 
■or  two  congregations  comi>lied  Avith  the  order. 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Division  of  the  Presbytery. 

The  territory  of  the  Presbytery  had  become  so  extended  tiuit 
it  was  thought  best  to  have  it  divided,  so  application  was  made 
to  the  Synod  of  New  York,  and  on  the  20th  of  May,  1808,  tlie 
following  act  was  passed  : 

^'■JicsolocJ,  That  the  Presbytery  of  Washing-ton  be  and  hereby 
is  divided  into  two  Presbyteries.  The  one  to  be  called  the  l.^rcs- 
bytery  of  AVashington,  and  to  consist  of  Rev.  Messrs.  John 
Dunlap,  George  jNIuirs,  Alexander  Proudfit,  Robert  Easton, 
Robert  Sherifi'and  Alexander  Denham,  witii  their  elders,  Avhic-h 
Presbytery  is  to  have  charge  of  the  vacancies  of  Lansing- 
burg  and  Lisbon.  The  other  to  be  called  the  Presbytery  of 
Saratoga,  and  to  consist  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  James  flairs, 
William  McAuley,  John  Burns  and  Robert  Proudfit,  with  their 
elders,  which  is  to  have  the  charge  of  the  vacancies  of  Albany, 
Florida,  Seneca,  Scipio  and  Delhi." 

In  accordance  with  this  Synodic  action,  the  reduced  Presby- 
tery met  in  Salem,  November  10, 180S,  and  was  constituted 
anew  by  Mr.  ])unlap,  senior  minister,  when  Mr.  Denhani  was 
chosen  moderator,  and  Mr.  Dunlap  continued  as  stated  clerk,. 
having  served  in  that  capacity  since  the  organization  of  the 
Presbytery  in  1794. 

On  the  first  Thursday  of  J)ecember,  1809,  Lansingburg  gave 
a  call  to  Mr.  McMurray  which  was  acce[tted,  and  he  was  or- 
dained and  installed  on  the  16th  of  the  following  January.  Tliis 
l)astorate  he  held  only  to  the  2.5th  of  September,  1811,  when  he 
resigned  and  soon  after  settled  at  Rhinebeck  in  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church. 

Although  Whitehall  had  been  regularly  supplied  with  preach- 
ing for  more  than  ten  years,  yet  it  was  not  until  November  8,, 
1809,  that  it  was  recognized  as  a  vacancy,  and  soon  afterwards 
organized  by  the  ordination  of  ruling;  elders.  This  societ}'  was 
always  feeble,  and  in  1800, -Gen.  Williams,  of  Salem,  who  owned 
much  property  in  this  neighborhood,  male  arrangements  to 
build  them  a  meeting  house,  but  died  before  his  purpose  was 
carried  out.  His  Avidow  and  son  (Col.  John)  built  the  house 
and  gave  it  to  the  congregation.  Thus  strengthened  and  en- 
couraired  Whitehall  irave  a  call  to  Thomas  White  on  tlie  third 


I'RRSIJYTERY    Of    AK(!VLi:.  25 

AV'eclne.sday  of  December,  1809.  ]\Ir.  AV'hite  luul  on  tlic  [nv- 
vious  mouth  received  a  call  from  Lisbon,  but  accepted  the  one 
from  Whitehall  and  was  there  onhxiued  and  installed  on  tin- 
24th  of  the  following  January.  This  pastoral  relation  con- 
tinued till  the  nth  of  February,  1812,  Avhen  Mr.  White  re- 
signed. 

*In  1810  Hampton,  in  Washington,  and  Constable,  in  Franklin 
county,  were  recognized  as  vacancies.  In  December  of  the  same 
year,  ('aldwell  Manor,  in  Lov/er  Canada,  and  Alburg  in  (Irand 
Isle,  Franklin  county,  Vermont,  were  received  as  vacancies.  In 
the  following  February  three  ruling  elders  were  ordained  and 
installed  in  the  latter,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July  four  in  the 
former.  They  associated  as  a  charge  and  gave,  in  July,  a  call 
to  Mr.  White,  which  he  declined. 

Since  colleo-e  honors  have  become  plenty  and  indiscriminate, 
they  have  cheapened  very  much  in  value,  but  in  the  days  of  our 
fathers  were  very  sparingly  bestowed  and  were  consequently 
lield  in  high  esteem  for  their  rarit}^  and  positive  signilicancy. 
September  25,  1811,  the  Presbytery  resolved,  on  motion  of 
Messrs.  Denham  and  Dunlap,  "that  as  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  had  been  conferred  upon  the  Rev.  Alexan- 
der Proudfit  by  the  College  of  Middleburg,  that  this  title  be 
hereafter  prefixed  to  his  name  in  the  minutes  of  Presbytery." 

The  power  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church  soon  became 
centralized  because  of  its  extensive  territory,  and  the  impossi- 
l)ility  of  those  on  the  frontier  attending  the  meetings  of  the 
General  Synod,  which  were  now  always  held  in  Philadelphia. 
Those  who  wielded  this  power  became  jealous  of  the  subordi- 
nate Synods  which  were  disposed  to  be  very  conservative,  so  in 
1810  they  induced  the  General  Synod  to  pass  an  act  "intermit- 
ting the  functions  of  the  subordinate  Synods.'"  Against  this 
act  the  Presbytery  immediately  protested  and  memorialized 
the  Presbytery  of  Saratoga  to  do  the  same.  Tb.e  result  was 
that  the  Synod  of  Xew  York  disregarded  the  decree  of  the 
General  Synod,  and  met  as  usual,  although,  with  the  exception 
of  ])r.  McJimsey  in  1811,  no  member  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Xew  York  ever  took  a  seat  in  Synod  until  it  becun-  indepen- 
dent in  the  autumn  of  1822. 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE 

On  the  4tli  Monday  of  February,  1812,  Dr.  rroudfit  moder- 
ated a  eall  in  Lisbon,  whieh  was  for  the  Rev.  Thoiiias  White. 
(Ml  tlie  2d  of  Marcl),  Mr.  White  accepted  this  call,  and  i)assed 
immediately  to  the  congregatif)U  and  was  installed,  after  various 
delays,  in  January  of  the  follo\\ing  year.  The  war  witli  Eng- 
land had  just  broken  out,  and  in  the  spring  of  1813,  the  Bi-it- 
ish  made  a  descent  upon  Ogdensburg.  The  militia  of  Lisl)on 
was  called  and  Mr.  AVhite  volunteered  both  as  cluq)lain  and 
common  soldier.  On  the  first  Sabbath  in  March,  1813,  he  re- 
turned to  Lisbon  and  preached  from  II.  John,  8th  verse,  "Look 
to  yourselves,  that  we  lose  not  those  things  which  we  have 
wrought,  but  that  we  receive  a  full  reward."  This  proved  to 
be  liis  farewell  sermon,  for  during  the  following  week  Ogdens- 
l)urg  was  taken  l)y  the  British  and  the  inhabitants  of  Lisbon 
lied  in  dismay  to  their  former  homes,  and  did  not  return  till 
after  peace  was  proclaimed.  Mr.  White  had  certainly  been 
greatly  roused  b}'  the  stirring  events  around  him,  and  largely 
aided  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  for  he  preached  with  such  power 
that  forty  years  afterwards  the  writer  found  the  raemorj-  of 
that  sermon  still  fresh  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  a<j;ed 
ones  who  heard  it.  On  the  29th  of  June,  Presbytery  dissolved 
the  pastoral  relation  between  Mr.  AVhite  and  the  Lisbon  co)i- 
gregation  "l)ecause  of  its  dispersion  by  the  war."  Mr.  White 
was  soon  called  to  Seneca,  Ontario  county,  where  he  died,  leav- 
ing a  most  excellent  reputation  as  his  largest  and  best  legacy  to 
his  children. 

The  remaining  story  of  Lisbon  might  as  well  be  told  here. 
The  congregation  remained  scattered  and  neglected  till  Febru- 
ary, 1817,  when  l^-esbyterj^  sent  up  Mr.  Dunlap,  who  s[>ent 
three  months  in  re-organizing  them,  after  which  as  much  su})- 
ply  as  possible  was  sent  to  them.  But  the  General  Synod  be- 
came more  and  more  feeble  as  it  approached  its  dissolution,  sf» 
that  the  supply  for  the  out-posts  became  less  and  less,  and  Lis- 
bon found  it  imperative  to  look  elsewhere.  So  they  petitioned 
I'resbj'tery  to  be  transferred  to  the  General  Assembly  I'resby- 
tery  of  St.  Lawrence,  this  was  granted,  and  they  were  received 
by  the  latter  on  the  3d  of  October,  1822,  and  James  Douglass 
was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  in  June,  1823.     In  Jaiuiary, 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AHUVLE.  27 

1826,  the  congregation  and  its  pastor  were  orderly  dismissed 
by  the  Presbytery  of  St.  Lawreiu-e  and  received  back  to  tlie 
I'resbytery  of  Wasliington.  In  1829  Mr.  DongUiss  made  ii 
visit  to  Canada,  and  remained  away  so  long  that  the  congrega- 
tion became  dissatisfied  and  applied  to  I'resbytery  for  a  disso- 
lution of  the  pastoral  relation,  which  was  granted  August  8, 
1S30.  For  three  years  tiieir  supply  was  very  miscellaneous, 
and  mainly  by  wandering  ministers  from  Canadit.  From  Se[iteni- 
her,  1833,  to  July,  1885,  Rev.  James  Bex-eridge  su})}»lied  with  great 
profit.  In  Se}ttember,  1835,  the  I\ev.  Alexander  Lewis,  late  of 
Nova  iScotia,  became  their  stated  sup]»ly  till  the  2Gth  of  August, 
1837.  For  five  years  their  su[)ply  was  occasional  and  irregular. 
James  Cam[)bell  spent  tlie  winter  of  1842  and  part  of  1843 
with  them.  Feter  C.  Ivobertson  and  Alexander  Luke  minis- 
tered to  them  during  1844.  Ste[)hen  Gager  came  to  them  in 
1845,  received  a  call  on  the  27th  of  July  which  he  accepted 
and  brought  on  his  family,  but  after  spending  the  succeeding 
winter,  concluded  that  the  climate  was  too  cold,  and  returned 
the  call.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1847,  the  Rev.  James  McAuley, 
having  returned  to  the  Presbytery  from  Southern  Illinois,  was 
installed  as  pastor,  and  labored  ^^■ith  marked  success  till  the 
4th  of  July,  1852,  when  he  resigned  because  of  his  age,  and 
ni()ved  into  Ogdensburg,  the  place  of  his  first  i)astorate,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  till  his  death.  The  Rev.  Thomas  C. 
■McLaury,  late  of  Cambridge,  received  and  accepted  a  call  on 
the  27th  of  Se[)teml)er,  1852,  and  the  4th  of  the  following  Jan- 
uary was  appointed  for  his  installation,  l)ut  when  the  commis- 
sioners of  Presbytery  arrived,  tliey  found  their  labors  antici- 
pated, as  he  had  evidently  finished  his  course,  for  on  the  Gth  of 
January  he  died,  and  the  whole  congregation  most  sincerely 
mourned  his  sudden  fall.  James  Beveridgc,  AVilliatn  B.  Shortt, 
John  Rippey,  John  Crawford  and  William  White  next  supplied 
them.  On  the  20th  of  November,  1854,  a  call  was  given  to  the 
Rey,  William  AVhite,  of  Burlington  Green,  which  was  de- 
clined. On  the  20th  of  March,  1856,  the  Rev.  John  M.  Heron, 
late  of  York,  having  received  and  accepted  a  call,  was  installed 
as  pastor.  On  the  23d  of  September  of  the  same  year  this 
pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Heron  passed  to   the 


28  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Tresby  tory  of  Saratoo^a.  ( )n  the  29th  of  June,  1858,  John  Harper, 
licentiate  under  the  care  of  the  Presb^-tory,  received  a  call,  which 
he  accepted,  and  was  ordained  December  8,  in  Argyle,  and  in- 
stalled December  22d  in  Lisbon. 

On  the  4th  of  ()ctol)er,  1814,  Chester  Long  and  Peter  C  Dun- 
lap  were  received  as  students  of  tlieology  and  so  certified  to 
the  Seminary  in  ISTew  York. 

On  the  3d  of  September,  1816,  Mr.  Dunlap  was  released  from 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  congregation  of  Cambridge,  and  for 
the  next  five  years  served  as  missionary  in  Oneida  and  Oswego 
counties,  under  the  direction  of  the  Young  Men's  Missionary 
Society  of  ITew  York.  For  twenty-two  years  he  had  served  as 
Stated  Clerk  of  ]*resbytery. 

March  28,  1818,  the  congregation  of  Caledonia,  in  Livingston 
county,  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  George  Mairs,  but  the  Presbytery 
refused  to  present  it.  On  the  7th  of  May  Chester  Long  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  gospel. 

Mr.  Denham  was  ap})ointed  to  preach  and  administer  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  Lansingburg,  on  the  third  Sabbath  of  July, 
1818.  This  was  the  last  supply  ever  granted  to  that  congrega- 
tion, and  the  last  Presbyterial  notice  of  its  existence,  and  may 
Ite  regarded  as  the  date  of  its  departure. 

On  the  25th  of  October,  1819  a  call  w^as  sustained  from  Cam- 
bridge to  Mr.  Donald  C.  McLaren,  whicli  was  accepted  on  the 
29th  of  November,  and  he  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
the  2Gth  of  January^  1820. 

In  1821  George  Mairs,  jr.,  and  John  B.  Steel  were  received 
as  students  of  theology  and  studied  the  first  year  in  the  Sem- 
inary in  j^ew^  York,  which  was  its  last  under  the  care  of  I)r. 
Mason.  In  April,  1822,  John  A.  Savage  was  received  as  a  stu- 
dent of  theology  and  pursued  his  studies  midcr  the  care  of  Dr. 
Proudfitand  the  Rev.  Robert  Forrest. 

At  the  meeting  ot"  the  General  Synod  at  Priiladel[)hia,  in 
May,  1821,  an  overture  was  received  from  the  General  Assem- 
bly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  there  and  then  in  session,  pro- 
posing an  organic  union  of  the  two  Churches.  Committees 
were  appointed  by  both  bodies  to  conduct  the  negotiations,  and 
the  following  })lan  was  agreed  upon  as  a  basis  of  union,  viz  • 


I'RESUYTEllY    OF    AIJiiVMv  -1^ 

"That  the  different  Presbyteries  of  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church  sliould  eitlier  retain  their  se[ianite  organizations  or  l)e 
amalgamated  with  those  of  tlie  General  Assendjly,  at  their  own 
choice."  That  "•the  Theological  Seminar}- at  Princeton  under 
the  care  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary of  the  Associate  Reformed  (Uiurch  should  be  consolidated," 
And  "that  the  Theological  Library  and  Funds  belonging  to  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church  shall  be  transferred,  and  Ijclong  to 
the  Seminary  at  Princeton."  There  was  nothing  doctrinal  in 
the  basis;  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  in  all  matters  of  faith 
the  two  Churches  were  substantially  one.  This  plan  was  ovcr- 
tured  to  its  Presbyteries  by  the  General  Synod,  while  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  l)elieving  that  it  possessed  ample  power  in  the 
matter,  did  not  overture  the  plan,  but  referred  it  to  the  next 
Assembly. 

Tliis  overture  came  l)cfore  Presbytery  at  its  meeting  in  Heb- 
ron, April  17,  1822,  and  was  unanimously  condemned,  and  Rev. 
Alex.  Denliam  and  Dr.  A.  I'roudfit  were  a[)pointed  a  "committee 
to  draw  up  a  report  and  remonstrance  against  an  union  with 
the  General  Assembly,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  General  Synod." 
The  Rev.  Alexander  Denham  and  Elder  Hugh  Johnston  were 
appointed  as  delegates  to  the  approaching  General  Synod- 
There  is  no  explanation  wdiy  only  two  delegates  were  appointed, 
while  tlie  Presbytery  had  a  right  to  four,  and  had  hitherto  al- 
ways apiiointed  their  full  ([uota.  The  delegates  failed  to  at- 
tend, and  because  of  their  absence  the  union  was  consummated. 
The  Presbyteries  of  AVashington,  Saratoga  and  Big  Spring  re- 
ported against  the  plan  of  unitm,  while  the  Presbyteries  of  New 
York  and  Philadel})hia  rejiorted  in  favor.  This  Presbyterial 
condemnation  of  the  overture  should  have  terminated  the  whole 
matter,  for  it  was  an  overture  of  linal  action,  and  not  merely 
for  advice,  and  according  to  all  genuine  I'resbyterian  law  and 
precedent,  the  answer  to  the  overture  was  final.  Put  the  (piestion 
of  an  immediate  union  was  proposed,  and  after  four  days  of  de- 
bate,it  was  resolved  on  the  21st  of  May  "that  this  Synod  approve 
and  hereby  do  ratify  the  plan  of  union  between  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church,  proposed  by  commissioners  from  said  Churches."     The 


;>()  mSTOIlY    OF    THE 

vote  H.tO()(l,  aye.s,  7;  nays,  .5;  silent,  4;  iiiid  G  not  present.  Tiie 
Presbytery  at  its  next  meeting  recorded  its  protest  against  this 
action  of  the  General  Synod,  and  called  upon  the  Synod  of  Xew 
York  to  memorialize  the  (general  Assembly  for  the  restoration 
of  the  Theological  Library  and  Funds. 

.January  25, 1823,  Chester  Long  was  ordained  Kuie  iitnlo.  And 
on  the  5th  of  March,  George  Mairs,  jr,  was  licensed,  and  on  the 
second  Monday  of  June  he  was  called  as  the  fissistant  and  suc- 
cessor of  his  father  in  Argyle,  and  was  so  ordained  and  installed 
()n  the  3d  of  the  following  September. 

John  W.  Prondtit  was  received  September  8, 1823,  as  student 
of  theology,  and  licensed  April  13, 1825,  and  ordained  sine  iifulo, 
November  4  of  the  same  year,  and  received  a  certificate  of  dis- 
mission, September  1,  1827. 

Malcolm  X.  McLaren  and  James  II.  Teller  were  reeeixed, 
February  1,  1825,  as  students  of  theolog}-;  the  former  was  li- 
censed June  6,  1826,  and  was  soon  afterwards  transferred  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Saratoga  ;  the  latter  was  licensed  August  31, 
1825,  and  soon  passed  to  the  Dutch  Church. 

John  A.  Savage  and  Sidney  Weller  were  licensed  on  the  4th 
of  May,  1825,  Mr.  Savage  was  soon  afterwards  located  as  stated 
supply  at  Fort  Covington,  in  Franklin  eounty,  and  that  he 
might  be  more  useful  in  his  isolated  position,  lie  and  the  con- 
gregation })etitioned  Presbytery  for  his  ordination.  This  was 
granted,  and  Dr.  Proudfit,  George  Mairs  and  William  Taylor 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  ordain  him.  And  a  record  in  the 
minutes  of  April,  1827,  runs  thus:  "The  Committee  to  Fort 
Covington  also  reported  they  had  visited  that  place,  and  on 
February  12,  1827,  ordained  John  A.  Savage  to  the  work  of  the 
(Tospel  Ministry."'  This  was  clearly  an  ordination  l,)y  commis- 
sion, and  not  by  Presbytery  in  its  constituted  capacity.  Whether 
a  Presbytery  has  the  ability  to  transfer  its  right  and  power  of 
ordination  to  a  committee  is  a  question  well  worth  the  study  of 
those  interested  in  the  constitution  and  laws  of  Presbyterian- 
isra. 

In  the  autumn  of  1823,  Mr.  Denham  resigned  the  charge  of 
Hebron,  and  moved  to  ^Isew  York.  In  the  spring;  of  1825,  the 
congregation  recalled  him,  and  on  the  23d  of  May  he  was  re- 


PRESBYTKRY    <IF    ARGYLIv.  O 

eeived  back  into  Presbyteryund  the  euU  was  sustiiined,  presented 
and  accepted  and  "Presbytery  taking  into  consideration  the  criti- 
cal situation  of  said  church  and  congregation  directed  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Denham  to  ministerial  duty  forthwith."  At  the 
next  meeting  of  ]*resbytery  his  installation  was  arranged  to 
take  place  on  the  3d  of  November.  But  on  that  day  remon- 
strances Avere  presented  against  his  installation,  and  it  was  re- 
solved to  postpone  it  ;  whereupon,  Mr.  Doidiani  returned  the 
call  to  Presbytery  and  went  back  to  l^ew  York." 

In  August,  1826,  the  Rev.  Donall  C,  McLaren  accepted  a 
call  to  the  church  in  C-aledonia,  and  his  pastoral  relation  with 
Cambridge  was  dissolved,  and  he  was  transfei-red  to  the  Presl>y- 
tery  of  Saratoga. 

James  McAuley,  brother  of  the  Rev.  William,  and  late  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ogdensburg,  and  William  Tay- 
lor, stated  supply  to  the  Presbyterian  Churcli  in  Madrid,  St. 
Lawrence  county,  were  received,  September  2, 182(J,  to  member- 
ship in  Presbytery. 

On  the  4th  of  Se[>tember,  1826,  a  commissioner  from  the 
l*resbyterian  Church  at  Fort  Covington,  in  Franklin  county, 
ajtpcared  and  represented  to  Presbytery  ''that  said  church  was 
desirous  of  adopting  the  standards  of  our  Church  and  conform- 
ing to  our  modes  of  worshi[)  and  Church  discipline,  and  re- 
quested to  be  taken  under  the  care  of  Presbytery."  This  peti- 
tion was  granted  and  John  A.  Savage  was  appointed  to  supph' 
the  congregation.  This  he  did  for  about  three  years.  In  June, 
1829,  they  applied  to  be  transferred  to  the  Champlain  I'resby- 
tery  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  which  was  subsequently  done,. 
and  Mr.  Savage  soon  afterwards  bei-ame  pastor  of  the  l*resby- 
terian  Church  in  Ogdensburg.  . 

In  October,  1826,  calls  were  given  to  Rev.  .Ianu;s  McAuley 
from  Cambridge  and  from  Hebron.  The  latter  he  accepted  and 
was  there  installed  on  the  18th  of  the  following  April.  Here 
he  labored  with  good  success  till  the  25th  of  August,  188-'),. 
when  the  pastoral  relation  was  at  his  request  dissolved. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  1828,  the  Rev.  John  ])unlai)  re- 
ceived a  certificate  of  dismission,  but  he  never  used  it,  as  his- 


32  IILSTORY    OF    THE 

health  sodu  afterwards  iailed  and  he  died  in  the  early  part  of 
the  following  year. 

Tlie  Rev.  AVilliam  Taylor  Avhen  received  into  the  Presbytery 
was  and  for  a  number  of  years  had  baen  stated  suppl}'  to  tlic 
Presbyterian  congregation  of  Madrid,  St.  Lawrence  county. 
The  congregation  put  itself  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery 
when  he  united,  and  about  a  year  afterwards  he  was  installed 
as  its  pastor.  This  relation  continued  till  September  2,  18o7, 
when  at  his  request  it  was  dissolved.  He  sought  no  other 
charge,  but  made  himself  useful  as  his  advancing  years  would 
allow.  The  congregation  of  Madrid  received  supply  for  two 
or  three  years  and  then  returned  to  the   Presbyterian  Church. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1828,  "The  United  Societies  in  the 
townships  of  Cavan,  Monahan,  Atonebee,  Hope,  and  Hamil- 
ton, District  of  ISTewcastle,  Upper  Canada,  put  themselves  un- 
der the  care  of  Presbytery  and  refjuested  preaching."  They 
were  received,  and  Peter  Gordon,  Mr.  Douglass  and  others 
s[ient  much  time  w'itli  them.  In  September,  1829,  they  gave  a 
call  to  Mr.  Gordon,  which  he  declined.  They  afterwards  gave 
a  call  to  Mr.  Douglass  which  he  accepted  and  Presbytery  or- 
dered his  installation  to  take  place  in  October,  1831.  In  No- 
vember, 1833,  Mr.  Douglass  and  these  societies  ref|uested  and 
received  a  certificate  of  dismission,  with  the  intention  of  con- 
necting themselves  with  the  Synod  of  Upper  Canada. 

On  the  28th  of  November,  1828,  Rev.  "William  Howden,  of 
Scotland,  but  for  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  of  jSTew  Bruns- 
wick, was  received  into  Presbytery.  On  the  same  day  he  re- 
ceived a  call  from  the  congregation  of  Cambridge,  which  he 
accepted,  and  after  some  unavoidable  delay  was  installed  Sep- 
tember the  29th,  1829.  On  the  11th  of  June,  1834,  Mr.  IIow- 
<len  resigned  this  charge,  and  passed  to  the  Presbytery  of  C^al- 
edonia. 

June  3,  1829,  Mr.  I'eter  Gordon,  of  the  Associate  Presbytery 
of  Cambridge,  was  received  as  a  student  of  theology,  and  on 
the  9th  of  July  was  licensed,  and  on  the  29th  of  October  of  the 
same  year  was  ordained.  He  spent  the  next  six  years  as  a 
missionary  and  in  sup[»lying  the  vacancies  of  the  Presbytery 


PRESBVTEUV    OF    AUdYhr.  '>■] 

Mucli  of  this  time'  was  given  to  West  (-ainlMidge  ami  to  I'jiper 

As  already  narrated,  the  AVhiteside  family  settled  at  an  early 
da}'  in  the  western  i)art  of  the  tf)wn  of  Canibridgo,  some 
six  miles  from  the  village,  and  became  the  nueleus  of  a  Society 
of  Covenanters,  wdiich,  at  the  nnion  of  17S2,  joined  the  Asso- 
ciate congregation  which. centered  at  the  village.  This  wing 
of  the  congregation  built  for  their  own  convenience  a  house  of 
worship  about  the  year  1800.  Here  all  the  pastors  of  the  con- 
gregation preached  about  one-third  of  their  time.  But  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1831,  this  branch  petitioned  Presbytery  for  indei)endent 
supply,  which  was  granted.  On  the  14tli  of  August,  18-32, 
i*resbytery  se[»arated  AVest  Cambridge,  or  the  Whiteside  So- 
ciety, from  Old  Cambridge,  and  made  it  an  independent  organ- 
ization, and  Mr.  Cordon  took  charge  of  it  as  stated  supply. 
The  t\\'o  branches  were  not  able  to  support  separate  pastorates, 
so  they  returned  to  their  old  condition,  and  on  the  4th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1835,  Mr.  Gordon  accepted  a  call  to  the  united  con- 
gregation, and  was  installed  on  the  8th  of  tlie  following  Oc- 
tober. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  1829,  Robert  Thompson,  a  licentiate 
from  Ireland,  was  received  and  labored  under  the  supervision 
of  rresl)ytery  till  the  19th  of  May,  1831,  Avhen  he  took  a  cer- 
tificate of  dismission. 

\\  illiam  Moore,  a  [irobationer  su[>plying  the  Presbj-terian 
Church  at  Oxbow,  detterson  county,  was  received,  ISTovember  4, 
1834,  and  on  the  10th  of  the  following  February  was  ordained 
and  continued  as  stated  supply  at  Oxbow.  In  July,  1835,  he 
went  to  Lisbon  to  assist  the  Rev.  James  Beveridge  to  liold  a 
communion,  and  was  there  taken  ill,  and  lingei-ed  on  till  the 
5th  of  December,  when  he  died  and  was  buried  among  a  stranuce 
jieople. 

May  20,  1835,  Alexander  I'roudtit  was  received  as  a  stu(k'nt 
of  theology.  On  the  same  (hay  James  II.  Barnes  was  also  rec- 
ognized as  a  student  of  theology,  lie  had  been  admitted  as 
such  in  1829,  but  had  intermitted  his  studies,  and  given  his 
time  to  teaching.     He  subsequently  left  for  the  Butch  Church. 

December  7,  1835,  fcralem  gave  a  eall  to  the  Rev.  James  Lillie, 


34  IILSTOJIY    OF    THE 

late  of  Scotland,  and  now  pastor  of  the  A.soociate  Ilefornied 
congregation  in  Franklin  street,  New  York  city.  lie  acce})ted 
and  was  installed  February  12,  1836,  as  pastor.  This  relation 
continued  only  till  June  26,  1837,  when  Mr.  Lillie  resigned, 
and  became  i)astor  of  the  J)utcli  Church  at  Rhinebeck. 

April  4,  1836,  JTebron  gave  a  call  to  the  Kev.  Jasper  ]Middk- 
niass,  a  Scotchman,  who  had  been  for  three  years  pastor  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church  at  White  Lake,  lie  accepted,  and 
was  installed  on  the  23d  of  June. 

After  Mr.  Moore's  death,  the  Presbyter\-,  from  time  to  time, 
sent  Dr.  Proudtit,  George  Mairs,  David  L.  Froudlit  and  others 
t*:)  su})ply  in  Oxbow.  The  village  of  (3xbow  is  situated  on  a 
sharp  bend  of  the  Oswegatchie  river,  in  the  town  of  Antwerji, 
Jetterson  county,  and  separated  only  by  the  river  from  the  town 
of  Rossie  in  St.  Lawrence  connty.  The  land  is  very  much 
broken  u[),  but  the  hills  are  full  of  the  richest  kind  of  ores,  of 
iron,  lead,  and  other  minerals;  and  the  arable  land  is  very  pro- 
ductive, giving  thrift  and  wealth  to  the  inhabitants.  The  lirst 
settlers  were  mainly  Scotch,  who  located  there  between  1810 
and  1825.  They  had  been  largely  conneeted  with  the  Established 
Church,  and  soon  organized  themselves  into  a  society,  and 
sought  supply  from  the  Presbytci'ian  Churcli.  With  many  of 
these  ministers  they  were  very  much  dissatisiied,  because  of 
their  Xew  School  ism.  Mr.  Moore  sympathized  with  the  people 
in  their  theol(\gical  views,  and  with  their  dislike  of  the  new 
doct'.'ines  and  measures  which  were  very  conm:ion  among  the 
l^resbyterians  of  this  region;  so  he  sought  ordination,  as  seen 
above,  from  the  hands  of  the  Presbj'tery  of  AVashington.  This 
brought  the  congregation  into  contact  Avith  the  Associate  Re- 
tbrmed  Church,  and  in  dependence  upon  it  for  a  supply  of 
preaching.  In  May,  1837,  the  Rev.  John  White,  of  the  Presbj'- 
tery  of  Caledonia, organized  at  Oxbow, the  "  Associate  Reformed 
Church  of  Antwerp  and  Rossie,''  and  it  was  received  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Washington  as  a  vacancy.  This  was  virtually 
the  previously  existing  Presbyterian  organization,  but  it  was 
partly  reorganized,  because  there  was  a  small  native  village 
element,  that  did  not  S3'mpathize  with  the  movement,  and  this 
part  retained  their  old  organization,  and  for  a  time  were  su}i- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARfiYI.E.  35 

jilied  by  ;i  Presbyterian  minister  wbo  resided  on  ins  Ihrni  iu 
tlio  vicinity. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1838,  the  Presbytery  sustained  a  call 
IVoni  Oxbow  to  tlie  Rev.  .1  oljn  White,  which  he  accepted, and  W  r. 
Taylor  was  appointed  to  install  him  as  soon  as  i)OSsible.  This 
installation  never  took  jdace,  and  on  the  21st  of  October,  1839, 
Mr.  "White  returned  the  call  to  l*resbytery,  and  asked  and  re- 
ceived a  certitrcate  of  dismission.  In  the  spring  of  1840,  the 
Rev.  James  Williamson,  late  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
joined  the  Presbytery  and  was  sent  to  Oxbow.  Here  he  re- 
mained for  ten  years  as  stated  supply,  and  then  lal)ored  else- 
where in  the  Presbytery  till  tlie  17th  of  June,  1852,  when  he 
passed  by  certificate  to  the  Church  in  Canada.  On  the  16th  of 
December,  1851,  James  S.  Cowper,  licentiate,  was  called  toOx- 
bow,and  on  the  22d  of  the  following  January  was  there  ordained 
and  installed  ;  but  on  the  4tli  of  April,  1854,  he  resigned,  re- 
turned to  Scotland, and  on  the  8th  of  November  received  a  certifi- 
cate that  he  might  unite  with  the  Free  Church.  For  three  years 
the  congregation  was  dependent  upon  J^-esbytery  for  supply, 
when  it  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  T.  Farrington  of  Salem, 
who  accepted  on  the  13th  of  October,  1857,  and  was  installed 
in  the  following  December. 

Mr.  Farringtc^n  and  the  church  at  Oxbow  declined  coming 
into  the  union  with  the  Associate  Church,  and  adhered  to  the 
residuary  party.  After  a  few  years  Mr.  Farrington  removed  to 
Xewburgh,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Adair  of 
Delaware  county,  and  when  the  residuary  organ i/.ation  became 
extinct,  he  and  his  church  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  where  they  now  are. 

May  20,  1835,  Alexander  Proudfit  of  Salem  was  license*!. 
October  9,  1837,  John  Skellie  was  received  as  a  student  of 
theology.  A|)ril  2,  1838,  John  D.  Gibson  of  Cambridge  was 
licensed. 

February  5,  1838,  Salem  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  Malcolm  X. 
McLaren  of  IIam]»tonburg,  which  he  declined;  and  on  the 
20th  of  the  next  August  gave  another  call  to  Rev.  Ebenezer 
llalley,  just  arrived  from  the   Associate    Synod   of  Scotland. 


36  HISTORY    OF    THE 

This  call  lie  accepted,  and  was  installed  on  the  3d  of  the  follow- 
ing September. 

In  1837,  trouble  sprung  up  in  Hebron  between  a  large  part 
of  the  congregation  and  their  pastor.  The  matter  came  into 
Presbytery  at  its  meeting  February  5,  1838,  and  was  postponed 
to  ii  special  meeting,  when  additional  papers  were  presented 
from  the  Session  and  the  Trustees  asking  for  the  dissolution  t)f 
the  pastoral  relation.  It  was  referred  back  to  the  congrega- 
tion, and  at  a  public  meeting  presided  over  by  Elder  John  Mc- 
Murray  of  Salem,  and  Elder  George  W.  Harsha  of  Argyle,  a 
vote  by  ballot  was  taken  which  resulted  in  twenty-four  votes 
in  favor  of  their  pastor  remaining,  and  fort}-  in  favor  of  his 
resigning.  Presbytery  then,  February  21st,  "atfectionatcly  re- 
<|uested''  Mr.  Middlemass  to  resign  the  charge.  This  he  re- 
fused to  do.  ''Whereupon  it  was  Resolved  that  the  pastoral 
relation  between  Mr.  Middlemass  and  the  congregation  of 
Hebron  be  and  is  hereby  dissolved."  Mr.  Middlemass  protested 
and  appealed  to  Synod,  and  the  Elders  and  Trustees  then  and 
afterwards  ajiplied  to  Presbyterj'  for  "supply  of  sermon," 
which  was  granted,  and  Mr.  Taylor  preached  there  during  a 
good  portion  of  the  summer.  When  Presbytery  met  June  the 
10th,  charges  were  presented  against  Mr.  Middlemass  which 
involved  moral  delinquency,  and  it  was  resolved  to  investigate 
these.  On  the  28th  of  August  a  libel  was  tabled  which  con- 
tained six  specifications,  all  of  wdiich  charged  him  with  saj'ing 
or  doing  certain  things  and  then  afterwards  positivel}'  denying 
them.  After  hearing  the  testimony,  a  recess  was  taken  till  the 
20th  instant,  when  Mr.  Middlemass  was  asked  for  his  defence, 
and  "said  that  he  would  make  no  defence,  but  leave  the  case 
with  the  Presbytery."  On  the  6th  of  September  Presbyteiy 
again  met  and  resumed  the  case,  and  voted  guilty  on  the  first 
two  charges,  and  "Resolved  that  Jasper  Middlemass  be  and 
hereby  is  deposed  from  the  exercises  of  the  holy  ministry," 
and  "  the  first  Monday  of  October  was  appointed  as  a  day  for 
the  confession  of  his  sin  in  the  church  at  Hebron."  Mr.  Mid- 
dlemass protested  and  appealed  to  Sx'nod,  which  met  in  Salem 
a  few  days  afterwards.  Synod  "enjoined  Presbyter}-"  to  re- 
view the  whole  case.     This  was  done  at  a  meetino;  on  the  first 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(1Y!,E.  37 

Monday  of  October,  when,  "after  tiic  most  patient  investic^a- 
tion  and  all  parties  beinii;  heard  at  length,"  it  was  "Re- 
solved unanimously  that  it  was  expedient  to  dissolve  the  rela- 
tion existing  between  Mr.  Middlemass  and  tiie  consi'i-eo-ation  of 
Hebron."  "Mr.  Middlemass  was  now  affectionately  asked 
whether  in  view  of  the  circumstances  of  the  case  he  would  not 
voluntarily  resign  his  charge,  and  not  force  the  Presbyter}'  to 
the  ]>ainful  alternative  of  dissolving  the  connection."  After 
a  short  recess,  "Mr.  Middlemass  ultroneously  resigned  his 
charge.  Whereupon  it  was  declared  that  the  connection  was 
now  dissolved.  Mr.  Ilalley  was  appointed  to  preach  in  Heb- 
ron the  following  Sabbath,  and  declared  the  church  vacant." 
Presbytery  then  took  under  review  the  deposition  of  Mr.  Mid- 
dlemass on  the  6th  of  iSeptember,  and  "  after  considering  the 
case,  and  Mr.  Middlemass  having  given  satisfactory  acknowl- 
edgments, agreed  tliat  the  act  of  deposition  should  be  removed, 
his  status  as  a  minister  remain  unforfeited,  and  that  he  will  bo 
furnished  by  this  court  with  an  unequivocal  attestation  of  his 
character  as  a  christian  pastor.  Which  was  acjordingly 
granted." 

August  30,  1838,  John  1),  Gribson  was  transferred  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Caledonia,  where  he  was  subse(j[uently  located. 
During  February,  1839,  Alexander  Shand,  a  licentiate  from 
Scotland  came  into  Presbytery  by  Synodic  a})pointment  and  on 
the  last  Monday  of  May  received  a  call  from  the  congregation 
of  Hebron,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  there  ordained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  2od  of  the  following  July. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1840,  Peter  Gordon  resigned  the 
charge  of  Cambridge,  and  was  transferred  during  the  following 
December  to  the  J*resbytery  of  Xew  York.  Mr.  Alexander 
Proudlit  was  dismissed,  June,  27,  1841,  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  Cambridge  congregation,  January  18th,  1842, 
gave  a  call  to  the  liev.  Thomas  C.  McLaury,  of  White  Lake, 
Sullivan  county.  He  accepted  and  was  installed  on  the  30th 
of  the  following  May.  Mr.  John  Donaldson,  of  Argyle,  who 
liad  studied  at  Newburgh  under  the  care  of  l*resl)ytery,  was  li- 
censed on  the  5th  of  June,  1843,  and  three  years  afterwards  re- 
ceived a  c-i'rtificate  of  dismission.     The  Kev.  Alexander  Luke 


oS  HISTORY    OF    THK 

received  a  certitirate  of  dismission,  February  10,  184-3,  to  unite 
Avitli  the  Church  in  Canada. 

^lay  30,  1848,  Mr.  Ilalley  resigned  the  pastorate  of  Salem, 
and  was  dismissed  to  the  Presl)yterian  Church.  On  the  lV)th 
of  tlie  following  December,  Salem  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.Thomas 
(jr.  Carver,  under  the  care  of  the  I'resbytery  of  New  York, 
which  was  declined.  On  the  5th  of  July,  1849,  another  call 
was  given  to  the  lie  v.  J.  B.  Robinson,  which  was  also  declined. 
On  the  25th  of  February,  1850,  the  Rev.  Thomas  T.  Farrington, 
of  Geneva,  was  called,  and  having  accepted  was  installed  on 
the  11th  of  the  following  June. 

()n  the  24th  of  September,  1849,  George  M.  McEachron,  of 
Argjde,  was  received  as  a  student  of  theology,  and  was  licensed 
on  the  30th  of  June,  1851,  and  subsequently  transferred  to  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York.  John  Crawford,  of  Salem,  was  re- 
ceived as  a  student  of  theology,  September  24,  1 849,  was  licensed 
on  the  31st  of  May,  1852,  and  was  ordained,  A[)ril  13,  1857, 
in  view  of  becoming  a  foreign  missionary. 

The  Rev.  Alexander  Shand  resigned  the  charge  of  Hebron, 
November  1,  1850,  and  received  a  certiticate  of  dismission.  On 
the  lOtli  of  June,  1851,  Mr.  Mairsresigned  the  pastoral  charge 
of  Argjde. 

Mr.  G.  M.  McEichron  in  the  S[)ring  of  1851,  asked  for  licen- 
sure at  the  end  of  his  second  year  in  theology,  upon  the  grounds 
that  having  been  previously  licensed  as  a  lawyer,  his  legal 
course  should  be  taken  in  lieu  of  the  third  ^-ear.  Presbytery 
did  not  see  its  way  clear  to  do  so,  and  referred  the  matter  to 
Synod,  which  authorized  tiie  licensure. 

On  the  tirst  Monday  of  December,  1851,  Argyle  gave  u  call 
to  the  Rev.  James  ]>.  Scouller,  of  Cuylerville,  which  was  ac- 
cepted, and  he  was  installed  on  the  31st  of  the  following  May. 
On  the  8th  of  June,  1852,  G.  M.  McEachron  received  a  call  from 
Hebron,  which  he  declined.  On  the  15th  of  November,  1852, 
Hebron  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  Kimball,  of  IIam[»ton- 
burg,  which  Nvas  accepted,  and  he  was  installed  on  the  Gth  of 
the  following  June.  On  the  11th  of  October,  1852,  John  An- 
derson, of  Argyle,  was  received  as  a  student  of  theology,  and 
on  the  30th  of  May,  1853,  William  White  was  received  as  a  li- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARCVLE.  39 

cL'Htiate  from  tlic  Noi'tlieni   l*r3sl)ytery  of  the  Reformed  I'lxs- 
byterian  ('liurch. 

On  the  2Ut  of  .ruly,  IS-rJ,  Mr.  Mi-Laiiry  resi-ivMl  h'.s  clianre 
ill  Cambridge,  and  on  the  1st  of  Xoveniher,  1S,>:},  William  B. 
Shortt,  probationer  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  I'hihi- 
<lel[>hiji.  aeeepted  a  call  from  Cambridge,  and  was  ordained  and 
installed  on  the  13th  of  the  following  December. 

Mr.  William  White  having  received  a  call  from  lUirlington 
Green,  was  transferred  March  27,  1854,  to  the  l*resbytcry  of 
Saratoga.  On  the  15th  of  January,  1855,  the  Rev.  W.  llow- 
<lon  was  received  back  again  from  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Canada.  On  the  9th  of  October,  1855,  Mr.  John 
Anderson  was  licensed,  duly  28,  1856,  William  John  Robin - 
sou  was  received  as  a  student  of  theology.  0;i  the  same  day, 
John  Harper  was  received,  and  having  studied  theology  under 
the  care  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Cambridge  was  forth- 
with licensed. 

September  1,  1856,  Mr.  Kimball  resigned  the  Hebron  charge, 
and  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month  that  congregation  gave  a 
<-all  to  the  Rev.  John  Van  Eaton,  of  York,  which  was.  declined. 
On  the  23d  of  the  following  January,  they  called  the  Rev. 
Jonatlian  Gillespie,  of  Hamptonburg,  but  before  his  installation 
could  be  effected,  he  died. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1857,  the  Presbytery  approved  of  the 
contemplated  union  with  the  Associate  Church,  upon  the  basis 
pri)[)Oscd,  with  some  qualifications. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  1857,  yii:  Farrington  resigned  the 
charge  of  Salem,  and  on  the  13th  of  Octol)er,  accepted  a  call 
ti^  Oxbow,  where  he  was  soon  afterwards  installed.  Rev. 
James  C.  Forsyth,  of  Cadiz,  Ohio,  received  a  call  from  Salem 
on  the  5th  of  April,  1858,  and  was  installed  on  the  29tli  of  the 
following  June.  In  June,  1858,  G.  Hamilton  Robertson  re- 
ceived a  call  from  Hebron,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  ordair.ed 
and  installed  on  the  13th  of  tlie  subsequent  July.  And  re- 
signed March  28,  1860. 

William  John  Robinson,  was  licensed,  September  21,  1858, 
and  sul)se([uently  receiving  a  call  from  Beulah,  was  transferred, 
SoptGnd)er  12, 1859,  to  the  Presbytery  of  Caledonia.     James  H. 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Robinson  was  received  as  a  student  of  theology,  September  12^ 
1859. 

In  consequence  of  the  union  iK'tween  the  Associate  and  the 
Associate  Reformed  Churches,  and  tlie  consolidation  of  the 
Presbyteries  of  Washington  and  Cambridge  so  as  to  form  the 
United  Presbyterian  Presbytery  of  Argyle,  the  Presbytery  of 
Washington  now  ceased  to  transact  any  ecclesiastical  business. 
Still,  because  of  a  trust  held  by  the  Associate  Reformed  Synod  of 
Xew  York,  it  was  deemed  expedient  that  the  J ^resbytery  should 
for  a  time  preserve  its  organization ;  so  at  a  meeting  held  in 
October  9, 1862,  the  Rev.  I.  :N'.  White  was  received  on  a  certi- 
tiaite  from  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers,  and  Rev.  J).  M.  Pre 
from  the  Presbytery  of  Monongahela.  Presbytery  then  ad- 
journed to  meet  at  the  call  of  the  moderator,  and  it  stands  tlius 
adjourned  with  W.  B.  Shortt  as  moderator. 

Without  stopping  to  philosophize  or  to  draw  lessons  from 
this  briefly  narrated  history,  it  seems  necessary  to  allude  to  two 
facts  which  present  themselves  so  prominently  as  to  need  some 
explanation. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  I'resbytery  there  were  petitions 
for  preaching  from  many  places,  and  cpiite  a  number  of  mission- 
ary stations  were  established  and  churches  organized  and  oc- 
cupied for  a  time,  and  then  passed  away.  This  arose  from  the 
fact  that  these  applications  came  from  Scotch  and  Irish  settlers 
who  preferred  the  doctrines  and  usages  of  this  Church,  and 
naturally  looked  flrst  to  it.  After  years  of  waiting  and  re- 
ceiving but  little  supi>ly  they  became  impatient  with  their  re- 
ligious destitution,  and  went  occasionally,  and  then  more  fre- 
(piently,  to  the  services  of  other  denomii-iations  in  tlieir  neigh- 
borhood, until  they  became  reconciled  and  assimilated  and  ab- 
sorbed, Tiie  Presbyterian  and  Dutch  Churches  were  older  and 
stronger  bodies,  and  tlieir  congregations  were  better  established 
than  those  of  the  Associate  Reformed,  and  the  smaller  gradu- 
ally yielded  to  the  attraction  of  the  larger.  If  we  had  had  a 
suthciency  of  men  and  means  to  have  occupied  these  places  with 
efhciency,  many  of  them  would  have  grown  into  strong  congre- 
gations which  might  have  been  upon  our  roll  till  the  present 
day  ;  but  tlieir  allegiance  to  our  Church  and  to  their  own  pref- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(JYLE.  -  41 

erenocs  \vas  not  ju'oot"  against  the  annoyance  and  loss  ai'ising 
from  their  eontinuwl  religions  j)rivations.  And  Avho  conld 
say  that  they  acted  unwisely,  tor  the  records  show  that  they  did 
not  act  hastily".'' 

It  will  also  be  observed  that  of  all  tlie  yonng  men  reared 
within  this  l*resbytery,  and  by  it  put  into  the  ministry,  very 
few  remained  in  the  Churcih,  but  sooner  or  later  united  with 
the  Tresbyterian  or  the  Dutch  Church.  There  must  have  been 
a  cause  for  this,  for  the  natural  bias  of  ])irth  and  education  is 
to  make  men  adhere  to  the  customs  and  jirinciples  and  associa- 
tions of  their  youth.  There  was  a  cause,  and  one  all  sufficient. 
There  was  a  lack  of  healthy  denominationalism.  Sectarianism 
which  arrogates  to  itself  peculiar  sanctity  and  exclusive  rights, 
and  puts  itself  in  hostile  attitude  towards  other  bodies,  and 
builds  upon  the  ruins  and  at  the  expense  of  all  around  them,  is 
neither  attractive  nor  commendable  ;  but  genuine,  earnest,  ac- 
tive, healthy  denominationalism  is  a  very  different  thing.  If 
there  be  sufficient  reason  for  the  existence  of  a  denomination, 
there  is  just  as  much  reason  why  its  interests  should  be  tl;e 
special  love  and  labor  of  its  adherents.  Even  the  employees  in 
a  business  house  are  expected  to  devote  all  their  business  energies 
to  the  interests  of  that  house.  In  such  devotion  there  is  neither 
necessity  nor  warrant  to  arrogate  to  self  or  to  antagonize  others. 
AVe  can  pursue  our  own  business  and  seek  our  own  interest 
without  molestino;  or  harming  our  neighbors.  We  can  even 
help  others  while  helping  ourselves.  Christian  union  depends 
jiiainly  upon  being  one  in  (^Jirist.  One  in  organization  is  only 
incidental  and  secondary.  And  even  organic  clunx-h  union 
does  not  require  that  all  should  be  united  in  one  conglomerate 
body.  It  admits  of  divisions  and  sub-divisions,  where  each 
body,  great  or  small,  shall  hold  its  own  position,  shall  do  its 
special  and  appropriate  work,  and  thus  by  doing  its  chosen  or 
assigned  jiart  ministers  to  the  general  success.  Indeed,  efficient 
organization  requires  this.  A  trained  and  efficient  army  does 
not  go  into  battle  as  a  multitudinous  mass,  but  is  divided  into 
regiments  and  brigades,  each  one  of  wdiicli  is  required  to  do 
the  service  belonging  to  its  position,  without  regard  to  its 
neiglibor,  which  is  supposed  to  do  the  same,  aiui  tlius  tlie  sue- 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE 

cess  of  the  wljole  is  secured  b}'  the  success  of  tlie  }»arts,  inr  the 
■coiDmander  had  studied  and  arranged  the  mutual  reUition  of 
the  different  sections,  lie  is  a  bad  soldier  who  insists  upon 
breaking  ranks  at  his  pleasure,  when,  perchance,  tlie  work  has 
become  dangerous  or  fati2:uing,  and  fighting  under  whatever 
regimental  colors  his  personal  interests  or  convenience'  may 
suggest.  And  so  it  is  with  the  Church.  Its  unity  docs  not 
require  one  great  single  body.  Its  division  and  sub-division 
into  denominations,  as  long  as  their  spirit  and  animus  are  kept 
j)T7.re  and  healthy,  is  an  advantage,  for  their  proper  rivalry  will 
produce  activity  and  efRciency,  and  preserve  the  whole  from 
stagnation.  Men  are  differently  constituted,  and  will  see  and 
feel  and  operate  differently,  and  it  is  a  wise  and  merciful  dis- 
pensation to  allow  those  who  see  alike  to  associate  together 
where  they  can  live  and  labor  pleasantly,  harmoniously  and 
<?fHciently.  If  an  individual  finds  himself  in  the  wrong  asso- 
•elation  where  he  is  out  of  harmony,  it  is  his  privilege,  perhaps 
his  duty,  to  riglit  himself.  Denominations  are  but  doors  to  the 
inner  Church,  the  Church  invisible,  and  are  worthy  of  neither 
praise  nor  blame,  because  of  their  size  or  number,  provided 
they  give  easy  access  to  the  streams  of  worshippers  which  crowd 
their  aisle. 

Sketch  of  Ministers  Trained. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  those  given  to  the  Ministry  of  the 
Christian  Church,  by  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbyter}-  of 
Washington  and  its  territorial  predecessor,  A  few  of  these 
<lid  not  belong  to  au}^  of  the  congregations  of  the  Presbytery, 
but  simply  studied  theology  within  its  bounds  and  under  its 
care.  Put  most  of  them  were  the  actual  children  of  the  Pres- 
byteiy,  although  several  of  tliem  studied  theology  and  sought 
licensure  elsewhere : 

Samuel  Tomb  was  the  son  of  David  Tomb,  one  of  the  Pul- 
ing Elders  which  came  with  Dr.  Clark  from  Ireland;  was 
liorn  January  1st,  1766  ;  was  graduated  at  Columbia  College 
and  studied  theology  with  Rev.  James  l*roudfit  and  Dr.  John 
Mason  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbytery 
of  New  York,  on  the   27th    of  May,  1789;  declined   calls  to 


PRE>I?VTKRY    OF    AlMiYI.E.  43 

Walkill,  ill  Orange  count}',  and  Princetown  and  Gahvay  ;  was 
transferred,  October,  18,  1791,  to  tlie  Associate  Reformed  Tres- 
bytery  of  New  Eno;land ;  declined  a  call  to  Antrim,  New 
Hampshire:  was  ordained  and  settled  as  pastor  in  July,  1798, 
at  New  Market,  New  Hampshire  ;  removed  in  November,  1797, 
to  Newbury,  Massachusetts,  and  was  installed  in  the  l^resby- 
terian  Church  in  Salem,  New  York,  February  19,  1806  ;  and 
liere  died,  March  28,  1832.  lie  was  a  man  of  nnich  more 
than  average  ability,  and  w;is  a  superior  classical  scholar.  He 
was  tall  and  slender,  with  a  strong  clear  voice  ;  and  as  a  Y»reachcr 
was  always  earnest,  often  fervid,  and  sometimes  strikingly  bril- 
liant.    As  a  pastor  he  was  very  successful. 

John  Dunla})  was  born  in  Lanarkshire  in  Scotland,  on  the 
loth  of  Se})tember,  1757;  came  to  America  in  1774;  served  in 
the  armv  of  the  Revolution  ;  made  a  profession  of  religion 
in  Salem  ;  was  classically  educated  in  New  Jersey  ;  studied 
theology  with  the  elder  Dr.  Mason  ;  was  licensed  October  13, 
1789  ;  and  ordained  and  installed  July  22d,  1791,  as  pastor  of 
the  congregation  in  Cambridge.  On  the  3d  of  September,  1816, 
he  resigned  his  charge  and  accepted  the  position  of  Domestic 
Missionary  in  Central  New  York,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Young  Glen's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York.  In  1822, 
he  retired  from  this  service  with  his  tamil}'  to  Cand)ridge, 
and  supplied  vacant  pulpits  as  he  found  it  convenient ;  and  died 
on  the  7th  of  March,  1829. 

Alexander  Proudfit,  1).  D  ,  was  l)orn  at  Pe(iuea,  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  November,  1769;  was  graduated  at  Columbia  College 
in  1792;  studied  theology  with  his  father  and  in  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Seminar}'  under  Dr.  Livingston;  was  licensed  by  the 
Washington  Presbytery  October  the  7th,  1794;  ordained  and 
installed  as  the  colleague  and  successor  of  his  father  in  Salem, 
on  the  13th  of  May,  1795  ;  resigned  his  pastorate  October  the 
8th,  1835;  was  Professor  of  Pastoral  Theology  at  Newburgh, 
1835-7,  and  died  April  17,  1843. 

Robert  I'roudfit,  1).  D.,  was  born  in  York  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania; was  graduated  at  Dickinson  College;  studied  theology 
with  his  cousin,  Alexander  Proudfit :  was  licensed  by  the  Pres- 
bvtery  of  Washington.  Ai'ril  the  20th,  1802;  onlained  an.l  in- 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE 

stalled  at  Broadalbin  on  the  18th  of  April,  1804;  became  Pro- 
fessor of  Languages  in  Union  College,  Schenectady,  Xew 
York,  in  October,  1818,  aiid  so  remained  nntil  his  death  in 
1860. 

John  Gosman,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Xew  York  city  in  1784; 
■was  graduated  at  Columbia  College  ;  studied  theology  with  Dr. 
Proudtit ;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Washington,  Sep- 
tember 25th,  1804  ;  supplied  the  Associate  Reformed  congrega- 
tion in  Lansingburg  till  1808  ;  then  joined  the  Dutch  Clinrch, 
held  several  of  its  pastorates,  and  died  in  1865. 

Thomas  McAuley,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  younger  brother  of  the 
Hev.  William,  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1778  ;  was  received  as  a 
literary  student  in  1802,  and  graduated  at  Union  College  in 
1804;  became  a  theological  student  in  1804;  gave  np  the  study 
in  1805;  was  licensed  February  18,  1817,  and  ordained  July 
18,  1818,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Albany,  Presbyterian;  was 
tutor  in  Union  College,  1805-6,  and  professor,  1811-22  ;  was 
captain  in  the  war  of  1812;  held  several  pastoral  charges  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  died  in  New  York  city  on  the 
11th  of  May,  1862. 

James  M.  Matthews,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Salem,  March  18, 
1785 ;  was  graduated  at  Union  College  ;  studied  theology  partly 
with  Dr.  Proudtit,  and  finished  in  the  first  class  graduated 
from  the  Seminary  under  Dr.  J.  M.  Mason;  was  licensed  by 
the  Associate  Reformed  Presbytery  of  New  York  in  1807  ; 
served  for  several  years  as  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in 
the  Seminary  in  New  York  ;  joined  the  Dutch  Church  in  1811 ; 
was  pastor  of  the  South  Dutch  Church  for  thirty  years ;  was 
tirst  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New  York;  died  in  1870. 

Stephen  Rowan,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Salem  in  1787  ;  was  grad- 
uated at  Union  College  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Dutch  Classis  of 
New  York  in  1806 ;  exercised  his  ministry  in  New  York  city, 
and  died  in  1835. 

John  Beattie  was  born  in  Salem  in  1784;  was  graduated  at 
rnion  College;  studied  theoloiry  with  Dr.  Proudtit;  Avas 
licensed  by  the  Dutch  Classis  of  New  York;  was  pastor  at 
New  Utrecht  and  at  Buffalo,  and  died  January  22,  1864. 

William  McMurray,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Salem  in  1784;  was 


P11ESI5VTKRY    OF    AKJVLH.  4") 

graduated  at  Union  C-oUugc  ;  studied  theology  iu  tlie  Seminary 
under  Dr.  Mason  ;  was  licensed  in  June  20, 180'.> ;  was  ordained 
and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Associate  lieformed  congrega- 
tion in  Lansingburg.  Januarj^  IG,  1810  ;  resigned  Septenihei- 
25th,  1811;  settled  in  the  Dutch  Church  iu  Rhinebeck  in  1812, 
and  in  New  York  city  in  1820,  and  died  September  24,  1835. 

Thomas  White  was  born  in  Argyle  ;  graduated  at  Tnion 
College,  and  received  as  a  student  of  theology,  March  2,  1808; 
after  a  full  course  of  study  in  the  Seminary  under  Dr.  Mason 
he  was  licensed  on  the  20th  of  June,  1809  ;  received  a  call  from 
Whitehall,  and  was  there  ordained  and  installed  on  the  24th 
of  January,  1810;  resigned,  February  11,  1812,  and  imme- 
diately took  charge  of  Lisbon  congregation;  on  the  29th  of 
June,  1813,  Presbytery  dissolved  the  pastoral  relation,  and 
he  soon  afterwards  settled  in  Seneca,  Ontario  county,  where  lie 
died  in  1824. 

Ebenezer  Iv.  Maxwell  was  born  in  Galwa}',  Saratoga  county  ; 
was  graduated  at  Union  College;  was  received  as  a  student  of 
theology  in  May,  1805  ;  studied  theology  in  the  Seminary  in 
New  York  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Saratogti  in 
1809  ;  was  soon  afterwards  ordained  and  installed  as  }tastor  of 
Delhi  congregation  in  Delaware  county,  and  went  with  his 
congregation  into  the  Presbyterian  Church  with  the  union  of 
1822.     He  died  in  1840. 

Chester  Long  was  graduated  at  Middleburg  College,  Ver- 
mont ;  studied  theolog}'  in  the  Seminary  in  Xew  Y^'ork ;  was 
licensed,  May  the  7th,  1818,  and  was  ordained  sine  titulo  Janu- 
ary the  25th,  1823. 

Peter  C.  Dunlap,  son  of  the  Rev.  John,  Avas  born  in  Cam- 
bridge ;  was  graduated  at  Union  College ;  was  received  as  ?( 
indent  of  theology  in  October,  1814;  studied  in  the  Seminary 
in  Kew  York,  but  was  tinally  obliged  by  ill-health  to  turn  from 
the  ministry  to  agriculture. 

John  Peatty  Steele  was  l)orn  in  Salem  in  1791! ;  was  educated 
at  Middleburg  College,  Vermont ;  studied  theology  in  the  Sem- 
inary in  Xew  Y'ork ;  was  licensed  by  the  Associate  Reformed 
Presbytery  of  New  Y^ork  in  1822;  was  ordained  by  the  Dutch 
Chassis  of  Albany  in  1824;  and  labored  in  the  Dutch  Church. 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Georofe  Mail's,  jr.,  was  born  in  Argyle  in  Maivli,  1798  ;  was 
graduated  at  LTnion  College;  studied  theology  in  the  Semin- 
ary in  Xevv  York,  and  with  his  father;  was  licensed  Marc-h 
the  5th,  1823 ;  was  ordained  and  installed  as  the  assistant  and 
successor  of  his  father  in  Argyle,  Se})tember  the  3d,  1823,  and 
resigned  his  charge  June  the  10th,  1851  ;  and  still  lives. 

AVilliam  Cruikshank  was  born  in  Salem  in  1708  ;  was  gra<l- 
nated  at  Union  College  in  1821  ;  studied  theology  at  the  Now 
IJrunswick  Seminary;  Avas  licensed  by  the  New  Brunswick 
Classis  in  1824: ;  preached  in  the  Dutch  Church  at  Flatlands, 
and  at  Newburgh,  and  at  Mamakating ;  and  died  in  1854. 

John  W.  Proudlit,  1).  1).,  son  of  Dr.  Alexander,  was  born  in 
Salem,  September  22,  1803  ;  was  graduated  at  Union  College 
in  1823;  studied  theology  with  his  father  and  at  Princeton 
Seminary;  was  licensed,  April  13,1825,  and  ordameil  sine  titi'lo, 
November  4th  of  the  same  year ;  received  a  certiiicatc  of  dis- 
mission, Sc})tcmber  1,  1827,  to  take  charge  of  the  l*resbyterian 
Churcli  in  Newl)ury[»ort,  Massachusetts  ;  became  Professor  of 
Languages  in  1833,  in  the  University  of  New  York,  and  tilled 
the  same  Professorship  in  Hutger's  College  from  1840  to  1859  : 
died  March  the  9th,  1870. 

John  A.  Savage,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Salem  ;  was  graduated 
at  Union  College:  studied  theology  with  Dr.  l*roudfit  arid 
Robert  Forrest;  was  licensed  May  4th,  1825;  was  ordained 
sine  fitido,  February  12,1827;  su})plie(lthe  Associate  Reformed 
('hurch  in  Fort  Covington  for  three  or  four  years,  then  became 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ogdensburg,  and  linally 
became  President  of  Carroll  College  in  Waukesha,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  died  in  1864. 

Sidney  AYeller  was  born  in  Orange  county;  was  graduated 
in  1820,  at  Union  College  ;  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Proudtit: 
was  licensed  with  Dr.  Savage,  Ma_y  4th,  1825  ;  was  transferred 
to  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbytery  of  New  York,  and  sul>- 
sequently  "he  received  a  dismission  in  order  to  connect  himself 
with  the  Presbytery  of  Winchester,  Virginia,  belonging  to  the 
Ceneral  Assembly ;"  not  succeeding  here,  he  settled  down  as  a 
farmer  in  North  Carolina,  and  joined  the  Episcopal  (Uiurcli,  al- 
though it  is  believed  he  nev3i'  sought  its  ministry. 


1>RES1;YTEKY    (iF    ARCYLE.  4T 

.lames  II.  Teller  studied  private!}'  under  the  Presbytery,  and 
was  licensed,  Au2:ust  31,  1825  ;  the  next  year  he  became  pas- 
tor of  the  Orchard  Street  Dutch  (Miurch  in  New  York,  and 
died  in  1830. 

Malcolm  N.  .McLaren,  1).  JX,  was  g-raduated  at  Union  Col- 
lege in  1824;  studied  theology  with  his  brother,  Donald;  was 
licensed,  June  (!,  1826;  w^as  ordained  and  installed  in  Novem- 
ber, 1827,  in  Broadalbin ;  was  transferred  in  the  spring  of  1833^ 
to  llamptonburg,  Orange  county  ;  ten  years  later  he  left  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church,  and  has  held  several  })astorates  in 
the  Presbyterian  and  Dutch  Churches,  and  now  lives  retired  at 
Auburn,  New  York. 

James  B.  Stevenson  was  born  in  Salem  in  1708  ;  was  grad- 
uitted  at  Rutger's  College;  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Proudfit 
and  at  the  N^ew  Brunswick  Theological  Seminary,  was  licensed 
by  the  Dutch  Classis  of  Washington  in  1827;  was  pastor  of 
the  Dutch  congregations  of  Florida,  and  of  Wynantskill,  and 
died  in  the  latter  place,  March  2,  1864. 

Peter  Gordon  was  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland  in  1801,  was 
graduated  at  the  University  of  that  city;  took  part  of  a  course 
of  theology  in  Scotland,  and  finished  with  Dr.  Alexand(!r 
Bullions  in  Cambridge;  was  licensed  by  the  Associate  Reformed 
i'resbytery  of  Washington,  July  the  9th,  1829,  and  was  ordained 
.^'nic.  titido  on  the  29th  of  the  following  October;  was  installed 
as  pastor  of  the  Cambridge*  Churcli  on  tlie  8th  of  October,. 
1835;  on  the  10th  of  February,  1840,  he  resigned;  was  con- 
nected with  three  or  four  congregations  ;  and  died  on  his  farm 
in  Cambridge  cm  the  15th  of  September,  1865. 

James  11.  Barnes,  believed  to  be  a  native  of  Washington 
county,  was  received  as  a  student  of  theology  in  1829,  but  in- 
termitted as  it  interferred  with  his  teachings.  May  20,  1835,. 
he  was  again  recognized  as  a  student  and  pursued  his  studies 
under  private  instruction,  but  befora  licensure,  w^as  dismis-^ed 
to  connect  with  the  Dutch  Church. 

Alexander  Proudlit,  (grandson  of  Rev.  James),  was  born  in 
Salem;  was  graduated  at  Union  College  ;  studied  the(Jogy  at  the- 
Seminary  in  Newburgh  ;  was  licensed,  May  20,  1835;  wa-  dis- 


48  HISTORY    OF    TUE 

mir-sed  June  27, 1841,  to  the  Presbytoriiiu  Church,  and  now  lives 
witliout  charge  in  Saratoga  S[trings. 

John  D.Gibson,  D.  TX,  was  born  in  Cambridge;  was  graduated 
at  Union  College;  studied  theology  in  the  Newburgh  Seminary; 
was  licensed,  April  the  2d,  1838  ;  in  1889  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled as  pastor  of  the  church  at  Seaooa  ;  on  the  5th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1845,  wvs  installed  as  pastor  in  Stamford,  wliere  he  still 
remains. 

John  C.  Cruikshank  was  born  in  Salem;  was  educated  at 
Union  College  ;  studied  theology  at  iSTew  Brunswick  Seminary 
and  was  licensed  in  1837 ;  has  been  pastor  of  the  Dutch 
churches  in  Hyde  Park,  Ilurlej^  and  Little  Falls,  and  since  1868 
has  been  without  a  charge. 

John  Skellie  was  born  in  Argyle ;  was  educated  at  Union 
College  and  the  Seminary  at  Newburgh  ;  w^as  received  April  9, 
1837,  as  student  of  theology;  was  licensed  (it  is  believed)  ])y 
the  Caledonia  Presbj'tery  in  1839 ;  was  ordained  b}'  that  Pres- 
bytery in  1842,  and  preached  in  Steuben  county  and  in  tlu- 
State  of  Michigan,  and  is  now  dead. 

.lohu  Donaldson  was  born  in  Argyle;  was  educated  at  Union 
College  and  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Newburgh ;  was  li- 
censed on  the  5th  of  dune,  1843,  and  three  years  afterwards 
asked  and  received  a  certificate  of  dismission,  which  he  never 
used  elsewhere. 

Peter  C.  Robertson  was  born  in  Argyle,  March  17,  1811;  was 
educated  at  Union  College  and  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Newburgh  ;  was  licensed  Jui^  1st,  1842 ;  was  ordained  and 
installed  at  White  Lake  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  on  the 
23d  of  Jul}',  1847,  and  is  now  pastor  of  the  Howard  congrega- 
tion. 

George  M.  McEachron  was  born  in  Argyle  ;  was  educated  at 
Union  College  and  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Newburgh  : 
was  licensed  June  30,1851 ;  was  ordained  and  installed  at  Mou- 
gaup,  on  the  11th  of  January,  1853  ;  passed  to  the  Dutch 
Church  in  1858,  and  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1868. 

William  C.  Somers  was  born  in  Barnet,  A^ermont ;  was  edu- 
cated at  Union  College,  and  studied  theology  in  the  Seminary 
at  Newburgh  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery   of  New  York, 


PRES15VTKRY    OF    AlUIVl.K.  4*,> 

May  till'  '22d,  1S')1  ;  was  onlaiiu'd  and  iiistalknl  at  ('ii}k'rvilU', 
May  21st,  185:),  and  is  now  at  Sunny  Dale,  Kansas. 

John  Crawford  was  born  in  Salem,  was  educated  at  Union 
College  and  the  Seminary  at  ISTewburii-h  ;  was  licensed  May  31, 
1852,  and  was  ordained  April  lo,  1857,  as  a  missionary  to  Da- 
mascus, in  Syria,  where  he  still  lal)ors, 

dohu  Anderson  was  born  in  Canada  and  reared  in  Argyle; 
Avas  educated  at  Tnion  College  and  the  Newburgh  Seminary; 
was  licensed  October  0th,  1855  ;  was  ordained  in  June,  1857, 
and  installed  as  pastor  of  Oswego  and  jS^ew  I?aris  congregations 
in  Elkhart  county,  Indiana,  and  has  recently  passed  to  the  Pres- 
byterian (Uiurch. 

dohnllarjter  was  born  in  count}'  Antrim,  Ireland  ;  was  grad- 
uated at  Union  College,  and  studied  in  the  Associate  Seminary 
at  Xenia,  and  under  the  care  of  the  I*resbytery  of  Cambridge; 
liaving  transferred  liis  relation  to  the  Presbytery  of  Washing- 
ton, was  by  it  licensed  on  the  28th  of  July,  1856,  and  ordained 
on  the  8th  of  December,  1858,  and  installed  on  the  22d  of  the 
same  month  in  Lisbon,  and  is  now  pastor  at  Smithville,  Illinois. 

William  John  Robinson,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Argyle ;  was 
<!ducated  at  Union  College  and  Xewbnrgh  and  Allegheny  Semi- 
naries; was  licensed  September  21,1858;  was  ordained  and 
installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Caledonia  at  Beulah,  on  the  (Jth 
of  December,  1859,  and  is  now  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in 
Allegheny,  Peimsylvania. 

Charles  Thompson  was  born  in  Salem,  Xovember,  18ol  ;  was 
gra^luated  at  Monmouth  C-ollege,  Illinois  ;  studied  theology  at 
U.  P.  Seminary  of  Monmouth  ;  was  licensed  by  the  U.  P. 
Presbytery  of  Chicago,  April  3d,  1863,  and  installed  as  piaster 
of  Ciena  and  Oquawka  ;  died,  January  2d,  1866. 

James  M.  Stevenson,  son  of  elder  James  P.,  was  l>orn  in 
Salem,  March  19,  1840  ;  was  educated  at  Union  College  and 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary ;  was  licensed  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Troy  (Presbyterian)  June  18th,  186-4;  was  ordained 
and  installed  in  October,  1864,  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian congregation  in  Jerse}'  (^'dy,  Xew  Jersey,  dii'd  on  the 
14th  of  October,  1871. 
4 


50  IILSTOKY    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  III. 
Associate,  1782-1851). 

IIE  union,  which  resulted,  October  31st,  1782,  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  ab- 
sorbed all  the  ministers  and  organized  congregations 
in  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  JSTew  York.  Messrs.  Marshall  and 
C'larkson  and  their  congregations  refused  to  go  into  the  union, 
and  continued  the  existence  of  their  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania, 
subordinate  as  hitherto  to  the  Associate  Synod  of  Edinburgh,  in 
Scotland.  In  the  State  of  Kew  York,  there  were  fragments 
here  and  there  which  did  not  sympathize  with  the  union,  and 
they  looked  to  the  residuary  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania  for 
ecclesiastical  care  and  culture.  That  Presbytery,  immediately 
after  the  consunnnation  of  the  union,  petitioned  the  General 
Associate  Synod  of  Scotland  for  ministerial  help,  and  in  178o, 
Mr.  Thomas  Beveridge,  the  assistant  of  the  venerable  Adam 
Gib,  of  Edinburgh,  was  appointed  to  go  to  America,  and  was 
soon  afterwards  specially  ordained  to  this  field.  He  arrived 
herein  the  spring  of  178-4,  and  immediately  joined  the  Presby- 
tery of  Pennsylvania.  During  the  following  autumn  he  visited 
Cambridge  in  answer  to  the  urgent  solicitation  of  a  number  of 
its  resident  families,  and  spent  the  greater  jmrt  of  the  succee<l- 
ing  winter  in  a  very  successful  missionary  work  in  wljat  is  now 
the  southern  part  of  Washington  county,  New  York.  In  the 
spring  of  1785,  he  went  to  the  city  of  New  York  and  gathered 
up  the  Scotch  families  of  Antiburgher  antecedents,  who  de- 
clined to  remain  or  coimect  with  Dr.  Mason's  church,  and  or- 
ganized them  into  a  congregation. 

In  the  early  summer  he  returned  to  Cambridge  and  completed 
his  work  of  the  previous  winter  by  organizing,  in  August,  a 
congregation  in  Cambridge  and  another  in  South  Argyle  and 
most  probably  a  third  in  Hebron.  The  former  of  these  was 
composed  mainly  of  families  which  before  the  union  had  been 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(}YLE.  51 

coiiiiected  with  Dr.  Clark's  eongre2:atioii  in  Salem,  or  with  the 
old  Cambrid£:;e  congregation,  but  refused  to  go  with  them  into 
the  union.  The  latter  consisted  of  families  which  had  been 
visited  and  preached  to  by  ministers  of  the  New  York  Presby- 
tery and  had  been  regarded  as  promising  missionary  ground. 
Some  of  these  were  in  actual  membership  in  Salem  or  Cam- 
bridge. To  all  of  these  new  congregations  were  soon  added  a 
number  of  members  which  (;ame  from  Scotland  shortl}'  after  the 
}>eace  of  1782,  and  whoso  sympathies  still  remained  with  their 
mother  Church. 

In  1788,  the  Church  in  Caml)ridge  gave  a  call  to  Mr.  Beve- 
ridge,  which  he  accepted  and  immediately  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  the  charge,  although  for  some  reason  not  now  known 
he  Avas  not  installed  until  September  10,  1789.  lie  gave  one- 
fourth  of  his  time  to  South  Argyle. 

The  towns  of  Barnet  and  Ryegate,  lying  on  the  Connecticut 
rivet",  in  Caledonia  county,  Vermont,  were  settled  by  companies 
from  Scotland  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  who,  during  this 
}ieriod,  associated  together  with  a  view  to  obtain  a  minister 
according  to  their  faith.  In  1787,  "the  Town  and  Church  of  Bur- 
net" petitioned  the  General  Associate  Synod  of  Scotland  for  a 
preacher.  The  S^niod  referred  them  to  the  Presbytery  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  and  in  June,  1789  "the  Town"  petitioned  this  Pres- 
bytery for  supply  of  preaching  and  suggested  the  services  of  Mr. 
David  Goodwillie  who  had  arrived  from  Scotland  the  previous 
year.  This  request  was  granted,  and  Mr.  Goodwillie  was  or- 
dained, October  3d,  and  sent  to  them  in  November,  and  re- 
mained for  throe  months.  On  the  5th  of  July,  1790,  they  gave 
him  a  call  to  become  their  pastor.  He  accepted  this  call,  and 
on  the  8th  of  the  next  February  was  installed  by  Dr.  Ander- 
son and  Mr,  Bevoridgo,  The  congregation  in  Ryegate  petitioned 
the  "Town  and  Church  of  Barnet,"  for  one-sixth  of  his  labors, 
which  was  granted,  and  this  relation  continued  for  over  thirty 
years. 

In  1791,  John  Crce,  probationer,  arrived  from  Scotland  and 
began  to  supply  the  Associate  Church  in  New  York  city,  to 
Avhich  he  was  soon  called,  and  during  the  following  year  was 
ordained  there  and  most  likely  installed  at  the  same  time.  The 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE 

•congregation  proved  to  ])e  too  weak  to  support  a  pastor,  and  in 
a  short  time  he  was  compelled  to  leave.  He  went  to  Western 
Pennsylvania  and  on  the  14tli  of  Decemher,  1803,  accepted  a 
call  to  Ligonier  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  lahored  till 
his  death.  Thomas  Hamilton,  of  Cliartiers  Preshytery,  was 
next  called  to  New  York  city,  and  was  there  ordained  and  in- 
stalled, June  10,  1802,  and  remained  till  his  death,  August  2:;), 
1818.  ' 

In  July,  1708,  Mr.  Beveridge  died,  and  in  Se[)tember  of  the 
following  year,  John  Banks  was  installed  as  his  successor  in 
Cambridge.  The  pastoral  relation  continued  only  till  June, 
1802,  when  he  was  "loosed,"  and  transferred  to  Florida,  in 
Montgomery  county,  where  he  was  installed  Septend)er  30, 
1803. 

Prt'.sbytery  of  Cambridge. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1800,  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Penn- 
sylvania received  and  adopted  "An  overture  for  the  erection  of 
the  Presbytery  into  a  Synod."  This  Synod,  the  "Associate 
Synod  of  North  America,"  held  its  first  meeting  in  Phila- 
delphia, May  20,  1801,  and  was  constituted  by  Rev.  \V.  Mar- 
shall, senior  minister,  and  afterwards  presided  over  by  him  as 
moderator.  On  the  following  day  it  was  decreed  that  the 
"S3aiod  shall  consist  of  four  Presbyteries  designated  as  the  As- 
sociate Presbyteries  of  Philadelphia,  Ohartiers,  Kentucky  and 
Cambridge."  The  part  which  fell  to  the  J^resbytery  of  Cam- 
bridge, was  all  that  ]tortion  of  the  Church  north  of  the  city  of 
New^  York,  leaving  the  congregation  in  that  city  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia.  It  was  composed  of  David  Goodwil- 
lie,  Archibald  Whyte  and  John  Banks,  ministers, together  with 
the  congregations  of  Cambridge,  South  Argyle,  Hebron,  Barnet, 
Kyegate  and  Florida.  By  the  authority  and  direction  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Pennsylvania  at  its  last  meeting  in  May,  1800,  the 
Presbytery  of  Cambridge  was  constituted  at  Cambridge  on  the 
8th  of  September,  1800.  Of  this  meeting  and  of  all  the  meetings 
for  the  next  three  years  there  are  no  records,  but  it  is  known 
from  other  sources  that  during  this  period  there  was  no  busi- 
ness of  any  importance  transacted,  except  in  reference  to  a  dith- 


PRKSliYTERY    OF    ARGYl.E.  53 

eulty  ill  Cambridge.  A  trouble  sprung  up  in  tbat  ^congregation 
which  was  insignificant  in  its  beginning,  but  it  widened  until 
it  involved  Mr.  ])ank:s  and  many  of  the  loading  members.  It 
went  to  I'resbytery  and  thence  to  the  Synod  of  1802  and  1803. 
Mr.  Banks  was  greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  result  and  read 
publicly  in  Cambridge,  before  a  large  audience,  a  pajier  severely 
criticizing  the  action  of  Synod  and  some  of  its  members.  For 
this  he  was  libeled  in  Presbytery,  and  rebuked  and  suspended 
from  the  ministry  for  two  weeks,  just  after  his  installation  in 
Florida. 

The  three  original  members  of  the  Tresljytery  of  Cambridge 
were  long  connected  with  it,  and  had  much  to  do  in  moulding 
its  policy,  and  as  biography  is  not  onl}'  history,  but  the  re- 
vealer  of  tlie  philosophy  of  history,  a  brief  sketch  of  their 
lives  will  not  be  out  of  place  just  here. 

The  Rev.  David  Goodwillie  was  born,  December  26,  1749,  in 
Tanshall,  some  fifteen  miles  north  of  Edinburgh,  was  gradu- 
ated at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  studied  theology  with 
]^rofessor  Moneriefi",  at  Alloa.  He  was  licensed  by  the  I'resby- 
tery  of  Kirkcaldy,  in  October,  1778,  and  sent  immediately  to 
Ireland,  where  he  remained  a  year.  In  1785,  he  was  sent  to 
the  north-west  of  England  where  he  spent  another  year.  In 
1787,  he  was  appointed  to  go  to  America,  and  arrived  at  Xew 
York  on  the  5th  of  May,  1788,  and  was  received  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Pennsylvania  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  and 
was  ordained  in  Philadelphia  on  the  31st  of  the  following 
October.  He  first  visited  Barnet,  Vermont,  in  the  autumn  of 
1789,  received  a  call,  July  5,  1790,and  was  installed  as  pastor  of 
Barnet,  February  8th,  1791.  One-sixth  of  his  labors  were 
given  to  the  church  in  Ryegate,  and  this  arrangement  contin- 
ued till  1822,  when  this  people  provided  a  pastor  for  themselves. 
In  1826,  his  son,  Thomas,  was  settled  as  his  colleague.  Of  his 
six  adult  children  two  sons  entered  the  ministry,  one  daughter 
married  Dr.  Alex.  Bullions,  and  another  the  Rev.  John  Don- 
aldson. He  died,  August  2d,  1830,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of 
his  age,  and  the  fifty-second  of  his  ministry. 

He  participated  very  considerably  in  civil  aftairs,  although 
he  never  allowed  himself  to  degenerate  into  a   politieian.     In 


54  HISTORY    OF    THE 

1805,  the  town  of  liariiot  elected  him  to  the  Legislature  of  the 
State,  which  met  at  Danville,  only  seven  miles  from  his  resi- 
dence, so  that  lie  always  spent  the  Sabbath  with  his  people. 
In  1807,  he  was  chosen  Town  Clerk,  and  soon  afterwards  Town 
Treasurer,  and  to  these  offices  he  was  re-elected  every  year  till 
1827,  when  in  consequence  of  his  age  he  declined  further  re- 
election. In  1808,  he  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster  in 
Barnet,  and  held  this  office  for  ten  years.  He  verily  served 
liis  parishioners  in  man}-  capacities,  for  having  studied  medi- 
cine, he  was  for  some  years  their  only  physician. 

During  his  ministry  over  four  hundred  united  with  the 
cliurch  in  Barnet,  and  some  two  hundred  in  Ryegate.  He  was 
an  eminently  devoted  and  successful  minister,  and  in  his  old 
age  continued  to  make  his  annual  pastoral  visit  to  everj'  family 
in  his  double  charge,  besides  his  public  meetings  for  catechis- 
ing in  different  parts  of  the  two  towns.  He  brought  a  good 
library  from  Scotland,  was  all  his  life  a  diligent  student,  and 
was  both  a  pleasant  and  instructive  preacher.  He  had  a  fine 
personal  appearance,  being  large  but  not  corpulent,  had  a  very 
pleasant  voice,  and  spoke  with  considerable  animation,  al- 
though not  much  gesture.  He  always  devoted  the  forenoon  of 
the  Sabbath  to  an  ex[)Ository  lecture,  and  in  this  way  went 
over  nearly  the  entire  Bible,  ver^^  much  to  the  edification  and 
instruction  of  his  peo})le. 

Archibald  Whyte  was  born,  December  25,  1755,  in  Deeble- 
shire,  Scotland,  and  was  graduated  at  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, in  1781,  and  studied  theology  with  Professor  Moncrieff 
at  Alloa.  He  was  licensed  in  August,  1786,  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Edhiburgh.  In  1787,  the  General  A^ociate  Synod  of  Scot- 
land appointed  him,  together  with  David  Goodwillie,  to  go  to 
America.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1788,  they  arrived  at  New 
York,  and  were  soon  received  by  the  Presbytery  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. On  the  week  after  his  arrival  in  the  country  he  came  to 
Cambridge  and  South  Argyle,  where  he  spent  much  of  the 
summer.  He  was  ordained  on  the  26th  of  May,  1789,  at  M  uddy 
Creek,  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  on  the  27th  of  May, 
1790,  was  married  to  Margaret  Kerr,  of  Marsh  Creek,  Adams 
county,  I'ennsylvania.     In    1792   he   received    a   considerable 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYl.E.  OO 

s;um  of  money  from  his  father's  estate,  witli  whieh  lie  ynv- 
i'hased  tliree  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  Innd  in  Arj;yle,  upon 
wliich  he  huilt  the  house  which  Avas  ever  afterwnnls  liis  liomc 
and  in  wliich  lie  died.  He  received  a  call  ahout  1700,  from 
a  congregation  in  South  Carolina,  which  he  declined  on  ac- 
<-(nnit  of  slavery.  This  was  the  only  call  he  ever  received. 
For  ten  years  or  more  he  itinerated  constantly  over  the  whole 
territory-  of  the  Cliurch,  from  Vermont  to  South  Carolina,  and 
from  the  Hudson  to  the  Ohio  river.  All  this  was  done  on 
horseback,  with  bad  roads  and  few  bridges.  For  some  years 
his  wife  was  his  constant  comitanion  in  all  his  travels,  and  as 
slie  had  been  trained  to  the  saddle,  which  was  not  so  with  him, 
she  was  always  the  better  horseman.  It  is  said  that  she  used 
to  ride  on  before  him  through  the  deep  waters  to  be  forded,  and 
the  difHcult  and  dangerous  places  to  be  passed,  and  then  gave 
liim  directions  liow  to  follow.  As  he  advanced  in  life  and  his 
family  increased,  he  restricted  the  bounds  of  his  itineranc}',  and 
ultimately  conlined  it  to  Cambridge  Presbyter3^  He  preached 
for  the  last  time  on  the  5th  of  October,  1845,  both  forenoon 
iind  afternoon,  in  Xorth  Argyle.  He  died  January  6th,  18-10. 
twelve  days  after  he  had  completed  his  ninety-third  ,year. 

^Ir.  Whyte  was  very  methodical  in  all  his  habits,  and  kept 
an  accurate  diary  of  all  his  doings  and  wanderings.  From 
this  it  appears  that  he  preached  in  lifty-four  difterent  places  in 
Scotland,  and  in  seventy-four  in  America.  In  stature  he  was 
below  the  medium,  had  a  long  face  with  a  high  and  capacious 
forehead,  and  a  good  expression  of  countenance. 

Dr.  Peter  Bullions,  who  was  for  some  time  Mr.  AVhyte's  pas- 
tor, and  for  many  years  liis  fellow  presl)yter,  in  describing  him 
as  a  preacher,  says:  "Here  T  am  obliged  to  acknowledge  that 
he  had  not  a  single  attribute  of  a  popular  speaker.  His  ser- 
mons were  excellent,  they  were  fully  written  out,  and  in  respect 
to  spirit,  sentiment,  and  I  may  add  style,  Avere  all  that  could 
l>e  desired  ;  indeed  he  ])Ossessed  rare  skill  in  solving  the  mean- 
ing of  a  passage,  while  everything  was  so  simple  as  to  he- 
adapted  to  the  liumblest  intellect,  there  Avould  often  be  an  air 
of  originality  about  it  that  the  most  cultivated  mind  Avould 
irreativ  admire.     Put  these  excellent  sermons  were,  shall  I  say. 


56  IITSTOIIY    OF    THE 

]iiui-dcre(l  in  the  delivery.  It  was  a  great  Inirden  to  him  to 
commit  to  memory,  and  when  he  had  done  his  best,  he  could 
not  he  sure  that  his  memory  would  not  fail  liim ;  and  hence 
his  delivery  was  labored,  embarrassed,  and  often  exceedingly 
jiainful  to  his  hearers.  Though  liis  sermons  were  always  re- 
plete with  excellent  matter,  and  were  well  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  any  audience,  it  was  only  that  portion  of  his  hearers 
who  could  overlook  a  crude  and  most  unattractive  manner,  who 
could  suitably  estimate  the  privilege  of  sitting  under  his  preach- 
ing." This  unattractiveness  could  liave  been  largely  if  uot  en- 
tirely removed,  if  he  had  read  his  discourses.  But  that  would, 
most  likely  have  been  regarded  by  him  as  sinful,  for  he  believed 
that  "  reading  was  no  preaching." 

Mr.  Whyte  was  a  man  of  deep  devotion  and  active  ])iety,  was 
modest  and  humble,  upright  and  honorable,  careful  and  consci- 
entious in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  to  God  and  man.  lie 
was  always  regarded  as  a  valuable  member  of  Churcli  Courts, 
because  of  his  good  sense,  enlightened  views  and  sound  judg- 
ment. 

Rev.  John  Banks,  J).  I).,  was  born  in  Sterling,  Scotland,  af'out 
the  year  1763.  lie  had  a  thorous-li  classical  and  theoloo-ical 
education,  and  was  settled  for  some  time  in  a  pastorate  in  his 
native  land.  He  came  to  this  country  in  1796,  and  for  nearly  a 
year  supplied  the  church  in  Isew  York  city,  from  which  he  re- 
ceived and  declined  a  call  in  1798.  In  September,  1799,  he  was 
installed  as  pastor  in  Cambridge.  In  consequence  of  a  trouble 
alluded  to  elsewhere,  he  resigned  in  June,  1802,  and  passing  to 
Florida,  Montgomeiy  county,  was  there  installed  on  the  30th 
of  September,  1803.  He  received  the  degree  of  I).  D.,  in  1808. 
lie  resigned  the  charge  of  Florida,  in  February,  1816.  and 
moved  to  Philadelphia  and  supplied  the  church  there  for  two 
years,  and  was  then  called  and  installed  as  pastor  in  June,  1818, 
Here  he  opened  a  classical  school,  and  then  took  charge  of  the 
Preparatory  Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
taught  a  private  class  in  Hebrew,  composed  mainly  of  city 
ministers.  When  Dr.  Anderson  died  the  Synod  established 
two  theological  seminaries, and  located  the  eastern  one  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  in  ^lay,  1820,  elected  Dr.  Banks  as  its  professor. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AlKiVLE.  0/ 

lie  thus  remained  pastor  and  professor  until  lie  was  stricken 
with  apoplexy  and  immediately  died  on  tiieDth  of  Ai)ril,  1826, 
in  tlie  sixty -third  year  of  his  age. 

Dr.  Banks  was  a  portly,  well-made  man,  with  an  uncom- 
monly ruddy  complexion,  arising  from  a  strong  tendency  of 
Idood  to  the  head,  lie  dealt  much  in  anecdote,  and  enjoyed  a 
iiearty  laugh,  was  guileless  and  simple-minded,  and  profoundly 
ignorant  of  the  artifices  and  ways  of  the  Avorld.  lie  had 
naturally  a  very  excitable  tem})erament  which  made  him  un- 
der all  circumstances  a  poor  disciplinarian,  and  interfered  some- 
what with  his  pastoral  success.  His  voice  was  good  and  me- 
lodious, but  lie  had  trained  it  to  such  perfect  uniformity  that 
his  delivery  was  in  a  high  degree  monotonous,  lie  generally 
wrote  his  sermons  in  full  and  committed  them  to  memory ; 
they  contained  a  large  amount  of  good,  solid  divinity,  and 
learned  exegesis,  but  were  neither  graceful  nor  correct  in  stylo, 
and  Avere  destitute  of  anything  like  imagination. 

He  had  an  exceedingly  retentive  memory,  and  was  a  very 
diligent  student,  and  in  everything  pertaining  to  his  profes- 
sion was  a  decidedly  learned  man.  He  was  a  peculiarly  tine 
classical  scholar,  and  especially  excelled  in  Hebrew.  He  had 
no  superior,  perhaps  no  equal,  as  a  Hebraist  in  this  countr\\ 
Dr.  ]Vlatthew^s,  one  of  his  first  pupils,  says  that  '•he  lived  and 
moved  and  seemed  to  find  a  great  part  of  his  enjoyment  among 
the  Hebrew  roots."  He  wrote  the  Hebrew  language  witli 
great  ease,  and  was  so  familiar  wdtli  the  llel)rew  Bible,  that  if 
any  one  ^vould  read  to  him  a  verse  from  any  part  of  the  English 
Bible,  he  could  immediately  give  the  corresponding  Hebrew. 
Of  him  Dr.  Alex.  Bullions  said,  "I  have  heard  many  men 
preach,  whom  I  should  rank  much  above  Dr.  Banks,  but  as  a 
Lecturer,  I  do  not  remember  to  have  heard  more  than  two  indi- 
viduals whom  I  regarded  his  superior." 

In  1803,  a  church  was  organized  in  the  town  of  Putnam, 
where  supplies  had  been  sent  for  several  years.  During  the 
same  year  an  application  was  received  from  a  number  of  fami- 
lies in  Westfield  (most  likely  in  Orleans  county,  Vermont),  for 
sup}ily  of  preaching.  Missionaries  were  sent,  the  Held  seemetl 
promising,  a  church  was  organized,  and  elders  ordained;  and 


58  HISTORY    OF    THE 

yet  at  the  en<l  oF  three  years  the  whole  thing  Ayas  abaiuloned. 
It  Avas  just  so  agaiii  and  again  in  tlie  earl}'  history  of  botli  the 
"Washington  and  the  Cambridge  Trosbyteries,  During  the  or- 
ganizing period  of  new  settlements,  parties  of  kindred  religious 
sympathies  would  apply  for  preaching,  but  as  social  crystal- 
lization took  place,  these  weaker  ones  became  absorbed  b}-  the 
•dominant  religious  party  of  the  community. 

In  1804,  the  Hey.  Andrew  Oliyer,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Pelham,  Massachusetts,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Lon- 
donderry, came  into^the  bounds  of  the  Presbyter}',  was  receiyed 
as  a  member  and  missionated  for  a  short  season,  and  witliout 
any  notice  or  permission  of  the  Presbytery,  returned  to 
Pelham.  He  then  asked  for  a  certiticate  of  transfer,  which 
was  refused  l)ecause  of  his  irregular  proceeding.  In  1806, 
Mr.  Oliver  organized  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Springiield,  Ot- 
sego county,  New  York,  which  he  served  for  several  years, 
when  trouble  came,  because  of  his  strong  doctrinal  preaching, 
and  he  resigned  and  organized  another  church  under  the  care 
of  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbytery  of  Saratoga,  of  which 
he  remained  the  pastor  till  his  death  in  1883. 

The  Church  of  Cambridge,  November  21,  1804,  gave  a  call 
to  the  Rev.  James  Ramsay,  of  Chartiers  Presbytery,  which  was 
declined.  On  the  18th  of  June,  1807,  this  church  called  Mr. 
Alexander  Bullions,  but  he  declined,  the  call  was  renewed  in 
October,  and  iinally  accepted,  and  he  was  ordained  and  installed 
■on  the  loth  of  the  following  April. 

On  the  11th  of  April,  1804,  the  Argyle  church  gave  a  call  to 
the  Rev.  Robert  Laing,  of  Cliartiers  Presbytery,  which  he  ac- 
ce[)ted  in  1805,  and  was  installed  on  the  26th  of  March,  1806. 

In  September,  1807,  a  petition  came  from  persons  in  Middle- 
town,  Stamford  and  Delhi,  in  Delaware  county,  for  preaching. 
This  request  was  several  times  repeated,  and  Mr.  A.  Bullions 
made  an  exploration  in  October,  1809,  and  in  May,  1812,  a 
church  was  regularly  organizeil  and  elders  ordained  by  Mr. 
Laing. 

September  20, 1809,  Mr.  John  Mushat,  w^as  licensed  to  i»re:ich 
the  gospel  ;  during  the  following  year  he  received  a  call  from 
Ryegate,  which  he  declined.     In  the  spring  of  1811,  the  Synod 


I'UKSBYTKRY    OF    ARJVl.K.  59 

cippointod  liini  as  a  inissioiiaiy  to  Xoi'tli  CarDliiia,  in  view  of 
^vllic'b  the  rrosliytciy  ordaiiu'd  him  on  the  ISth  of  tlio  follow- 
ing Septetnl)or. 

Mr.  David  French  was  licensed  on  the  1st  of  November,  1809, 
received  a  call  the  folhnving  Ajiril,  from  tlie  nnited  cliarge  of 
Hebron  and  riitnam,  which  he  declined,  and  accejtted  a  call  to 
North  l>ufialo  in  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1810,  the  I'resbytery  met  in  Ar- 
gyle  at  the  recpicst  of  Mr.  Laing,  and  "took  into  consideration 
the  confession  which  Mr.  Laing  made  at  the  preceding  meet 
ing  of  Presbytery  respecting  his  being  intoxicated,  on  Monday, 
August  26,  1810,  betwixt  Cambridge  and  Argyle."  After  the 
■examination  of  a  number  of  witnesses  he  was  adjudged  guilty 
iind  rebuked  by  Presbytery.  This  did  not  satisfy  his  parish- 
ioners, for  at  a  meeting  on  the  30tli  of  the  next  January  the 
Presl)yt€ry  received  "a  petition  from  Argyle^ subscribed  hy  a 
considerable  number  of  that  congregation,  requesting  a  dissolu- 
tion of  the  comiection  betwixt  them  and  their  pastor,  alleging 
that  his  usefulness  was  at  an  end."  At  a  subsequent  meeting, 
Mr.  Laing  tendered  the  resignation  of  his  charge,  and  on  the 
2d  of  September,  1811,  the  relation  was  dissolveil.  In  Janu- 
iiry,  1814,  ]Slr.  Laing  received  a  call  to  Delhi  and  connections 
which  he  accepted  in  May, 1814,  and  wassubsequently  installed. 
This  relation  continued  for  iiine  years,  and  then  ottence  and 
trouble  must  needs  come,  as  in  Argyle,  and  on  the  8tli  of  May, 
1823,  he  was  rebuked  and  suspended  from  the  ministry  l)y  tlie 
Presb3'tery.  The  congregation  asked  for  the  dissolution  of  the 
]tastoral  relation,  which  was  granted  on  tlie  2-3 th  of  June.  Mr. 
Laing  was  restored  on  the  19th  of  May,  1824. 

^biy  9,  1814,  a  unanimous  call  was  given  by  Argyle  to  Alex- 
ander McClelland,  a  native  of  the  Presbyter}-,  but  a  licentiate 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers.  This  call  was  accepted  on  the 
29th  of  August,  on  condition  that  his  ordination  should  not 
take  jilace  before  the  following  May.  Mr.  McClelland  delivered 
his  trials,  and  on  the  12th  of  June,  1815,  was  examined  "on 
theological  subjects,  and  liis  views  of  our  principles  as  stated  in 
the  Testimony."  The  examination  on  one  or  two  jioints  was 
not  entirely  satisfjictory.  so  tlie  case  was  postponed  till  the  next 


<'»0  HISTORY    OF    THE 

meeting  wliicb  took  place  on  the  26tii  of  July,  when  "after 
much  reasoning  on  the  propriety  of  his  ordination,  it  was  agreed 
to  proceed  to  the  ordination  and  installment,"  and  the  9th 
cf  August  was  appointed  the  day.  When  Presbytery  met  in 
Argyle,  Mr.  McClelland  did  not  appear,  so  the  clerk  was  di- 
rected to  cite  him  to  appear  at  next  meeting  and  answer  for  his 
tViilure.  On  the  25th  of  September  a  letter  was  received  from 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  stat- 
ing "that  Mr.  McClelland  had  made  application  to  them  for 
admission  to  their  communion,  laid  before  them  an  extract  of 
a  minute  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Cambridge  appointing 
his  ordination  and  admission  to  the  congregation  of  Argj-le, 
and  also  a  summons  from  said  Presbytery  to  appear  before  them 
and  answer  for  not  obtemperating  said  appointment.  They, 
willing  not  to  act  rashly,  agreed  to  write  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Cambridge,  to  know  if  they  had  anything  against  him,  1)ut 
what  respects  his  views  concerning  Christian  communion."  Mr. 
McClelland  was  also  present  and  "stated  as  reasons  for  not  sub- 
mitting to  the  appointment  of  Presbytery  at  their  last  meeting, 
the  opposition  made  by  some  members  to  his  ordination;  and 
that  he  considered  his  request  for  a  dismission  an  intimation 
of  his  intention  to  leave  this  Church;  and  upon  the  matter  of 
a  "declinature,"  that  if  there  was  any  want  of  formality  in  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  made,  it  was  from  ignorance  of  order 
and  not  from  contempt ;  that  he  still  declines  the  fellowship  of 
this  Church,  and  wishes  to  retire  in  peace."  "Farther  proced- 
ure in  the  case  was  sisted  and  the  matter  referred  simpliciter  to 
Synod,"  and  directed  "a  friendly  letter  to  be  written  to  the 
aforesaid  Presbytery  of  ISTew  York." 

August  29,  1814,  Thomas  Beveridge  was  received  as  a  stu- 
dent of  theology.  On  the  28th  of  February,  1816,  Dr.  Banks 
resigned  the  charge  of  Florida,  and  removed  to  Philadelphia. 
On  the  oOth  of  September,  Mr.  John  Donaldson,  "missioned 
from  the  General  Associate  Synod  in  Scotland,"  presented  his 
credentials  to  Presbytery  and  was  received,  lie  soon  received 
a  call  from  Florida,and  was  there  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
26th  of  March,  1817.  Peter  Bullions,  licentiate  of  the  Asso- 
ciate Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  was  received,  October 


PRESnVTEKV    OF    AK'.iVLK.  61 

-27,  1817,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  in  Soutli  Ai'i>:yle,  on 
tlie  4tli  of  March,  1.S18.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Shaw  was  abont 
tliis  time  transferred  l)y  Synod  to  tliis  Presbytery. 

Februar}'  9, 1818,  "some  })C()plcin  Albany"  petitioned  for  sup- 
ply of  sermon.  This  was  <»;ranted,  and  occasionally  repeated 
till  ]\Iay  3,1820,  when  a  congregation  there,  hitherto  connected 
in  Canada,  Avas  received.  On  !N"ovembor  8,  1820,  they 
petitioned  for  an  election  of  additional  elders,  and  I'eter 
Bullions  was  appointed  to  preside  and  ordain  the  elders,  lie 
preached  in  Albany  on  the  third  and  fourth  Sal)baths  of  No- 
vember but  did  not  ordain  elders,  and  his  reasons  were  sustained 
by  Presbytery  at  its  next  meeting.  The  Rev.  Mr.  McDonald 
had  organized  this  congregation  in  1800,  and  resigned  its  ])asto- 
ratc  in  1818. 

August  30,  1819,  James  Irvine  and  James  Martin  were  re- 
ceived as  students  of  theology  ;  and  the  Rev.  James  Millar  was 
transferred  to  Presbytery  by  the  Synod.  On  the  4th  of  No- 
vember,  Mr.  Millar  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Putnam.  February  22,  1820,  Mr.  Donaldson  resigned  his 
charge  of  the  Florida  congregation.  In  1820,  the  church  in 
New  York  city  was  transferred  to  this  Presbyter}',  and  by  order 
of  Synod,  Mr.  Irvine  was  transferred  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Kentucky,  and  this  Presbytery  heard  Mr.  Beveridge's  trials  for 
ordination.  Messrs.  Thomas  and  David  Goodwillie  of  Barnet, 
A'ermont,  were  also  recognized  as  students  of  theolog}'. 

May  3,  1820,  Presbytery  "  took  up  a  reference  from  Synod 
fit  their  last  meetijig,  of  a  proposal  to  divide  themselves  into 
sub-Synods,  to  meet  in  General  Synod  once  in  three  years,  &c. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  this  Presbytery  that  this  would  be  imprac- 
ticable in  the  present  situation,  answering  no  valuable  purpose, 
but  attended  with  manifold  inconveniences."' 

June  6,  1820,  the  families  of  the  congregation  of  C'ambridge 
which  resided  in  the  town  of  Salem,  were  at  their  own  request 
erected  into  an  independent  congregation.  At  the  same  meet- 
ing the  Rev.  Andrew  Stark,  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of 
Edinburgh,  was  received ;  he  soon  afterwards  accepted  a  call 
to  the  congregation  of  New  York  city,  where  he  was  installed. 
May  17,  1822? 


(j'2  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Tho  section  of  country  irnniediately  west  of  Niascara  Falls 
ill  Canada,  was  first  settled  by  refugees  from  the  tState  of  Xew 
York,  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Those  Avho  retired  here 
because  of  their  lo^'alty  to  the  British  Government  were  sup- 
plied with  free  farms.  At  different  subsequent  periods  coni- 
panies  of  Highlanders  made  their  homes  north  and  w^estof  the 
upper  end  of  Lake  Ontario.  These  early  settlers  suffered  many 
])rivation8  and  made  but  slow  progress,  because  of  the  isolation 
of  their  position,  the  severity  of  the  climate,  and  the  difficulty  of 
reducing  their  heavily  timbered  land  to  a  state  of  profitable 
culture.  They  were  nearly  all  Scotch  by  birth,  and  retained  a 
strong  affection  for  the  Presbyterianism  of  their  native  land, 
but  their  poverty  and  their  secluded  location  prevented  them 
from  making  much  provision  for  religious  ])rivileges.  There 
were  a  few"  church  organizations  scattered  through  the  country, 
but  they  were  generally  without  pastors,  and  the  occasional 
supply  which  they  received  was  from  traveling,  and  too  often 
vagabond  ministers,  who  had  left  Scotland  and  Ireland  because- 
of  their  worthlessness.  A  Mr.  Orr,  who  had  been  connected  with 
Mr.  Hamilton's  church  in  ISTew  York  city,  settled  in  Stamford,, 
about  1815,  or  soon  afterwards,  and  in  1821,  wrote  a  friendly 
letter  to  Dr.  Alexander  Bullions,  in  which  he  stated  and  la- 
mented their  religious  destitution,  and  simply  asked  that  some 
of  the  ministers  of  his  Presbytery  when  going  to  Pittsburgh 
might  come  around  by  his  neighborhood.  Dr.  Bullions  laid  this 
letter  before  the  Presbytery  at  its  meeting  on  the  27th  of 
August,  1821,  and  on  the  1st  of  October,  they  resolved  to  send 
the  Pev.  Peter  Campbell,  v/ho  had  just  been  transferred  to  them, 
on  a  mission  to  Canada,  and  ordered  collections  to  be  taken  n[) 
in  all  their  congregations  to  meet  the  expense.  For  some  rea- 
son satisfactory  to  Presbytery^  Mr.  Campbell  did  not  go,  and 
the  whole  matter  was  referred  to  Synod.  The  Synod  at  its 
meeting  in  May,  1822,  appointed  Thomas  Beveridge,  Thomas 
Ilanna  and  Alexander  Bullions  "to  itinerate  in  Canada  three 
months  each,  or  thereabout,  the  expenses  incurred  by  said  mis- 
sion to  be  defrayed  by  the  Synod."  Dr.  Bullions  did  not  go  at 
this  time,  but  Beveridge  and  Ilanna  left  Philadelphia  forthwith 
on  horseback,  and  rode  the  first  week  to  Cambridge,  Kew  York, 


PRESr,YTERY    OF    ARCJYl.E.  6S- 

and  tlic  second  week  to  Caledonia,  and  crossed  the  Niagara  River 
at  QiU'cnstown,  They  wore  not  expected  hy  any  one,  but  found 
plenty  of  willing  hearers.  They  spent  about  a  month  in  ex- 
jtloring  and  organized  tlie  congregation  of  Gait,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  several  others  which  were  subse<[uently  organized. 
They  passed  on  to  Detroit  and  to  their  homes  in  Xenia  and 
Cadiz.  The  Synod  continued  to  foster  this  Canada  Mission, 
and  Dr.  Alex.  l)ullions  and  Dr.  Peter  Bullions  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbytery  visited  it  within  the  next  three  or  four 
years,  and  in  1825,  the  Presbytery  sent  them  a  box  of  Testimonies 
and  Catechisms  and  Tracts  for  sale  and  gratuitous  distribution. 

July  17,  1822,  the  Presbytery  "Resolved,  that  it  is  incum- 
bent on  these  congregations  that  are  numerous  and  able  to  con- 
tribute according  to  their  respective  abilities,  to  aid  and  en- 
courage those  that  are  weak  and  unable  to  support  a  stated 
dispensation  of  ordinances.  That  a  fund  be  created  and  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  Presbytery  for  aiding  weak  congregations 
under  our  inspection."  While  this  scheme  produced  very  little 
immediate  fruit,  yet  by  recognizing  the  [)rinci[)lc  of  mutual 
help,  and  by  keeping  it  before  the  attention  of  the  people,  it 
did  assist  in  cherishing  and  developing  a  spirit  of  liberality. 
-Before  this  Female  Benevolent  Societies  had  been  formed  in 
Cambridge  and  Argyle,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  to  raise  money 
for  the  assistance  of  theological  students,  and  the  support  of 
the  Theological  Hall,  which  had  been  lately  established  under 
Dr.  Banks  in  Philadelphia. 

May  24,  1822,  a  call  was  given  to  Thomas  Terrier  from  Rye- 
gate  m  Vermont,  which  was  subsequently  accepted,  and  he  was 
ordained  and  installed  on  the  27th  of  the  following  September. 
This  charge  he  resigned,  July  (5, 1825.  On  the  28th  of  August, 
1822,  Archibald  Whyte,  jr.,  Findley  McNaughton  and  William 
Easton  were  received  as  students  of  theology.  On  the  2d  of 
September  James  Martin  was  licensed. 

Peter  Bullions,  from  the  time  of  his  settlement  in  Argyle, 
and  with  the  consent  of  that  people,  gave  a  regular  portion  of 
his  time  and  labor  to  the  congregation  in  Hebron.  On  the  27th 
of  January,  1823,  he  terminated,  with  the  permission  of  l*res- 
bytery,  this  oversight  of  Hebron,  and  on  tlie  2d   of  February, 


04  HISTORY    OF    THE 

lS2o,  lie  sent  \i\^  resignation  of  the  cliarge  of  Argyle,  having 
removed  from  that  i)]ace  to  All)any  the  previous  autumn.  This 
resignation  was  accepted  and  the  pastoral  relation  dissolved, 
with  the  addition,  "That  J*reshytery  express  their  highest  dis- 
approbation of  Mr.  Bullions'  conduct  in  leaving  Argyle  con- 
gregation, as  being  disorderly,  irvegular,  and  unpresbyterial, 
inasmuch  as  he  did  not  consult  Presbytery  on  the  subject.'' 

On  the  20tli  of  February,  1823,  the  Rev.  Peter  Campbell  was; 
installed  as  pastor  in  Florida.  As  an  illustration  of  the  re- 
muneration given  by  congregations  to  their  pastors  iifty  or 
sixty  years  ago,  the  salary  pledged  to  Mr.  Campbell  upon  this 
occasion  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  sample.  He  was  to  receive  an- 
nually four  hundred  dollars  in  mone}',  the  use  of  a  house,  a 
garden  and  lot,  and  out-houses,  together  with  tliirty  cords  of 
tirewood  drawn  to  the  house.  In  some  cases  pasture  for  one 
liorse  and  two  cows  was  added.  When  we  consider  the  great 
difference  in  the  style  of  living  then  and  now  in  the  commu- 
nity generally,  necessitating  the  same  on  the  part  of  the  minis- 
ter ;  and  the  equally  great  difference  in  the  purchasing  power  of 
the  dollar,  it  will  be  seen  that  congregations  made  as  ample 
provision  for  their  ministers  then  as  they  do  now. 

September  22,  1823,  the  church  in  Hebron  called  James 
Irvine,  and  on  the  7th  cf  the  following  July,  he  was  there  or- 
dained and  installed.  On  the  23d  of  September,  1823,  Thomas 
and  David  Goodwillie  were  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel. 
James  Martin  was,  on  May  the  10th,  1824,  ordained  and  in- 
stalled in  Albany. 

At  a  meeting,  February  2d,  1825,  Mr.  Martin  represented  the 
wish  of  the  American  Tract  Society  to  be  recognized  and 
recommended  by  the  Presbytery.  "  After  being  informed  or 
the  nature  of  said  society,"  they  "approved  ther6f)f,  and  re- 
solved that  members  recommend  it  to  their  congregations  " 
At  this  same  meeting  Horatio  Thompson  was  received  as  a 
student  of  theology. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1825,  a  number  of  persons  in  Johnstown, 
Fulton  county,  applied  for  a  supply  of  sermon.  This  was 
granted,    and    repeated   frequently,  till  the  fifth    Sabbath   of 


I'UHSUVTEKV    (U'    AKiiVLK.  ()■') 

March,  1828.  when  a  I'liurcli  was  reo-ularly  ()^^■ani7.(.•ll  tlicro  l>y 
Mr.  Glordon. 

( )n  the  first  Wcdiu'sday  of  March,  1825,  the  cong-rcii-ation  («f 
Aro-yle  u-ave  u  call  to  Mr,  James  White,  recently  arrived  from 
Scotland,  and  on  the  same  day  the  Salem  chnrch  also  gave  him 
ii  call,  lie  aceepted  the  latter,  and  was  ordained  and  installed 
in  Sulem,  July  the  Gth.  This  pastorate  was  short  but  very 
snccessfnl.  Mr.  White  died  December  1-),  1827,  in  the  thirty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Sejitember  15,  1825,  -lames  McGeoch  was  received  as  a  stu- 
dent of  theology;  and  on  the  2Gtli  of  the  same  month,  Mr. 
Uu>sel  was  received  as  a  licentiate  from  Scotland. 

A  charge  of  gross  immorality  was  preferred  against  the  liev. 
dames  Millar  of  l'ntnam,on  the  14th  of  Se[)tember,  1825.  Its 
final  consideration  was  postponed  till  the  1st  of  the  following 
February,  when  the  whole  case  was  refered  '' .s7'//(y>//V-//rr "  to  the 
Synod.  But  at  the  cH)ngregation's  request,  his  pastoral  relation 
with  the  church  at  Putnam  was  dissolved,  upon  the  ground 
tliat  his  usefulness  there  was  at  an  end.  lie  was  also  denied  a 
scat  in  I'resbytery  till  the  Synod  had  issued  his  case.  The 
Synod  at  its  annual  meeting  in  October,  182(j,  fonnd  Mr. 
Millar  guilty,  and  deposed  him  from  the  ministry  ;  his  sentence 
Avas  never  afterwards  rescinded  or  modified. 

On  the  2iHh  of  May,  1826,  Thomas  Goodwillie  acce})tcd  a 
call  from  Barnet,  Vermont,  and  on  the  28tli  of  the  following 
Septenrner,  was  there  onlained  and  installed  as  the  assistant 
and  successor  of  his  father. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  182G,  "several  persons  in  York,  Living- 
ston country,"  petitioned  "to  be  taken  under  the  care  of  Pres- 
bytery and  receive  as  much  supply-  as  may  be  deemed  projicr."' 
This  iietition  was  granted,  and  in  Se[)tember,  1827,  a  ehureh 
was  regularly  organized  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  (Toodwillie. 

June  19,1826,  Archibald  Whyte,jr.,  and  Findley  McNaugh- 
ton  were  licensed,  and  William  Kaston  during  the  following 
Septemi)er. 

On   the  21Jth   of  -lune,  1826,  Argyle  gave  a  call  to  the  liev. 
Thomas  Be\'eridge,  which  he  declined  on  the  14th  of  July ; 
but  the  Presbytery,  for  some  reason,  ordered  the  call  to  lie  ujioii 
5 


GO  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tlio  table  till  the  next  meeting,  to  be  presented  a  second  time. 
It  was  a  second  time  declined.  Still  on  the  Ttli  of  Febrnaiy, 
1828,  the  congregation  of  Argylc  made  ont  a  second- call  to  Mr. 
I)everidge,but  it  met  with  no  better  success  than  its  i)redecessor. 

The  united  congregations  of  Stamford,  Tliorald  and  Beaver 
Dam,  in  Canada,  gave  a  call  to  John  Kussel  in  September,  182tj. 
He  asked  the  privilege  of  holding  this  under  consideration 
until  he  might  more  fnlly  ascertain  the  state  of  these  congre- 
gations. This  was  granted,  and  that  he  might  be  better  iitted 
for  his  work  in  that  isolated  region,  he  was  ordained  on  the 
31st  of  October,  in  Cambridge.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
in  1804  the  Rev.  J.  Burns,  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Churciu 
accepted  a  call  to  the  congregations  of  Stamford  and  Bertie,  in 
Upper  Canada,  and  was  installed  therein  on  the  18th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1806,  \)y  the  Presl)ytery  of  Washington.  These 
churches  in  a  few  years  disappeared  from  the  statistics  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church,  and  whether  the  Associate 
churches  now  calling  Mr.  Russel,  had  been  gathered  to  any 
extent  from  the  wrecks  of  previous  Associate  Reformed  ones 
cannot  now  l)e  ascertained. 

In  September,  1826,  j'etitions  for  sup})ly  were  received  from 
"  some  persons  "  in  Howard,  Steuben  county,  and  from  Esquess- 
ing,  in  Upper  Canada,  and  from  the  Seignory  of  Xion,  and  Cal- 
well's  Manor,  in  Lower  Canada.  The  petitioners  from  Cal  well's 
AFniior  had  most  likely  been  connected  with  the  Associate  Re- 
formed Church  which  the  Presbytery  of  Washington  had 
organized  there  in  1810,  and  associated  with  another  at  Alburg, 
in  Vermont,  but  which  was  utterly  wrecked  b}'  the  war  wliich 
broke  out  in  1812  between  the  two  countries. 

In  1826,  because  of  the  death  of  J)r.  Banks,  Professor  in  the 
Eastern  Theological  Hall,  the  Presbytery  appointed  Dr.  Ak'x. 
Bullions,  professor  pro  tan  ,  and  directed  its  students  to  wait 
upon  his  instructions.  In  September,  1827,  Peter  Gordon,  of 
tlie  United  Secession  Church  in  Scotland,  and  for  two  years  a 
student  of  theology  in  its  Hall,  was  received  as  a  student  of 
theology.  After  finishing  his  theological  course  under  Di-. 
Bullions,  he  united  with  the  Associate  Reformed  Presbytery  of 
Washington,  and  was  b}'  it  licensed  in  rlune  1829. 


PRESr.YTERY    OF    AR(iYI.R.  (17 

111  the  early  i»art  of  1827,  n  eall  from  IJovina  and  eonneetion^ 
was  presented  to  Mr.  McXaiigliton,  and  declined.  He  snbse- 
(luentlj-  accepted  one  to  Mercersburg,  Pennsj'lvania.  On  the 
27th  of  September,  of  the  same  year,  a  call  from  Baltimore,  in 
Maryland,  was  presented  to  Archibald  Whyte,  jr.,  and  was  1(3- 
him  accepted. 

Tt  was  the  enstom  of  the  Presbytery  in  early  days  to  appoint 
territorial  bounds  to  the  several  congregations  in  Washington 
comity,  l)ut  in  the  process  of  time'  this  became  very  distasteful 
to  some  of  the  i'amilies  which  resided  on  the  borders;  because 
from  personal  preferences  or  the  condition  of  the  roads,  they 
sometimes  wished  to  change  their  congregational  connection. 
This  could  only  be  done  Iw  Presbytery,  and  application  for 
change  invariably  gave  rise  to  controversy  more  or  less  unplea- 
sant, so  on  the  12th  of  September,  1827,  it  was  "resolved  that 
this  Presbytery  judge  it  inexpedient  to  preserve  an}'  longer 
geographical  dividing  lines  between  neighboring  congrega- 
tions." 

On  the  7tli  of  February,  1828,  William  Pringle,  probationer 
of  the  United  Secession  Church  of  Scotland,  applied  for  admis- 
sion, and  after  a  long  controversy,  followed  by  a  protest  and 
aii}ieal  to  Synod,  he  was  received.  The  difiiculty  was  his  re- 
fusing to  approve  of  the  Synod's  condemnation  of  the  union  of 
the  Burghers  and  Antiburghers  in  1820.  When  this  union 
took  place,  I*rofessor  Paxton  headed  a  small  party  of  Antibur- 
ghers who  protested  and  refused  to  enter  tiie  newly  formed 
United  Secession  Church,  The  Synod  in  this  country  sympa- 
thized with  "Professor  Paxton 's  Part3',"and  in  May,  182G  con- 
demned "said  union  as  a  defection  from  a  Covenanted  Refor- 
mation." In  1827,  Professor  Paxtoivs  party  united  with  the 
"Constitutional  Presbytery,"  formed  by  Dr.  McCrie  and  his 
few  followers  in  the  schism  of  1806,  and  constituted  the  Synod 
of  Original  Seceders.  The  American  Synod  held  communion 
with  these  Original  Seceders,as  the  true  Secession  Church.  This 
Synod  of  Original  Seceders  united  with  the  Free  Church  in  1852. 
Mr.  I*ringle  was  called  to  Ryegate,  in  Vermont,  where  he  was 
ordained  and  installed,  June  29, 1830,  and  remained  till  June  21, 
1852,  when  in  consequence  of  ill  health  he  resigned,     lie  died 


(58  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ill  Ueceiiiber  14,  1858.     "He  -was  an  excellent  scliolar,  an  al)le 
preacher  and  was  liiglily  respected  in  all  liis  relations." 

Ill  tiie  s})ring  of  1828,  tlie  cliurcli  in  Tntuam  gave  a.  call  to 
tlie  llev.  Alexander  Gordon,  and  lie  was  installed  on  tlie  2d  of 
July,  and  resigned  the  charge,  August  o,  1842. 

May  7,  1828,  Mr.  A.  Mitchell  Avas  received  as  a  probationer 
from  the  United  Secession  Synod  of  Scotland,  and  on  the  11th 
of  July,  Horatio  Thompson  was  licensed.  Mr.  Mitchell  was 
subse([uently  rejected  as  an  imposter. 

During  the  early  summer  of  1829,  the  church  in  Argyle 
called  the  Rev.  James  1*.  Miller,  Avhich  resulted  in  his  installa- 
tion in  the  following  October.  During  the  succeeding  winter 
the  families  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town  who  resided  eight 
and  ten  miles  from  the  meeting  house,  })etitioned  for  a  new  or- 
ganisation to  be  l(wated  in  the  village  of  !N^orth  Argyle.  This 
was  granted,  and  in  the  spring  of  1830  such  an  organization 
was  effected,  and  in  Xovember,  1831,  the  Rev.  Duncan  Stalker 
was  installed  as  pastor,  and  so  remained  till  a  year  before  his 
death,  in  December,  1853. 

John  G.  Smart,  licensed  by  the  riiiladelphia  l*resbytery,  Au- 
gust 17,  1826,  was  ordained  sine  tifalo  by  the  I'resbytery  of 
(Cambridge  on  the  5th  of  November,  1829  ;  accepted  a  call  from 
Johnstown,  Fulton  county,  5th  of  the  next  May,  and  was  there 
installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Albany,  at  its  tirst  meeting,  July 
21, 1830. 

The  Synod  at  its  meeting  in  the  si)ring  of  1830,  concluded  to 
divide  the  Rresbytery  of  Cambridge,  and  enacted  that  all  its 
ministers  and  congregations  lying  west  of  the  Hudson  river 
and  south  of  a  line  east  from  Waterford,  should  be  erected  into 
a  new  Presl^yterj,  to  be  styled  the  Presbytery  of  AlljtuiN'.  This 
new  1^'esbytery  included  the  following  ministers:  Peter 
Bullions,  Andrew  Stark,  James  Martin,  Peter  Campbell,  John 
G.  Smart,  Robert  Laing  and  John  Russell. 

Mr.  David  Gordon  was  ordained  and  installed  as  i)astor  in 
Salem,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1832,  and  resigned  on  the  20th  of 
Jime,  1843,  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad. 

The  Rev.  James  Irvine  resigned  liis  pastorate  in  Ilebrim. 
September,  1831,  to  take  the  charge  of  the  Second  Church  in 


J'KKSBYTERY    OF    ARCYhK.  69 

Now  ^'o^k  city,  which  had  been  recently  oro;;niiize  h  The  Kev. 
Abmhaiu  Andci'son,  pastor  of  Steele  Creek,  North  Carolina? 
being  on  a  visit  north,  supplied  the  chureh  in  Hebron  during 
the  summer  of  1832,  and  having  received  a  call  the  following 
spring,  was  installed  as  its  jiastor  during  the  summer  of  1833. 

The  months  of  June  and  duly  of  1835  were  si)cnt  l)y  tht- 
Rev.  David  Gordon  in  a  missionar}'  tour  in  the  northern  part 
of  Essex  county,  and  the  neighboring  border  of  Lower  Canada, 
and  resulted  in  the  estal)lishment  of  Kssex  and  Beach  Kidge 
and  I  rinehinbrook  as  missionary  stations.  Mr.  Gordon  returned 
and  spent  the  uionth  of  October  in  this  section  of  countr}-. 
Mr.  David  Strang,  David  Thompson,  James  P.  Miller  and 
others  visited  these  stations.  The  Tresbytery  directed  its  sev- 
eral congregations  to  take  up  collections  to  aid  these  new  enter- 
prises, and  in  the  autumn  of  1836  and  the  succeeding  summer 
churches  were  regularlj^  organized  in  Essex,  Essex  county, New 
York  and  at  Beach  Ilidge,  Ilemmingsford  and  Ilinchinbrook 
in  Lower  Canada. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  American  Bible  Society  leading 
members  of  the  Associate  Synod  petitioned  that  society  to  l»ind 
up  with  some  of  their  copies  of  the  Bible,  tlie  Psalms  in  metre 
io  that  they  might  be  circulated  within  the  l)0unds  of  their  con- 
gregations. The  directors  of  the  society  declined  to  do  this, 
upon  the  grounds  that  the  constitution  of  the  society  forl)id  their 
circulating  anything  except  the  Canonical  Books  of  Scri[)ture 
in  the  received  translation.  The  Sjnod  at  its  meeting  in  1835, 
adopted  a  Bible  scheme  of  their  own  to  promote  the  circula- 
tion of  the  liible  with  the  Psalms  in  metre.  In  aid  of  this 
scheme,  the  Presbyter}-,  on  the  4r,h  of  November,  recommended 
every  congregation  under  its  care  to  organize  a  Bible  Society, 
and  reported  a  model  for  their  constitution.  This  movement 
resulted  in  the  circulation  of  (piite  a  number  of  copies  of  the 
Bible. 

In  November,  1835,  Thomas  Gilkerson  was  received  as  a  stu- 
dent of  theology,  and  in  1836,  Archibald  Peid,  Isaac  Law  and 
John  AV.  llarsha,and  in  April, 1837,  David  G.  Ibillions,  were  also 
received  as  students. 

At  this  point  of  time  a  schism  took  place  in  the  Presbytery. 


70  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Ijut  it  i«  deemed  iiiex[)edieiit  to  go  into  anything  like  a  minute 
liistory  of  its  euuses  and  successive  steps.  The  story,  if  all 
were  tcld,  would  be  a  long  one,  and  perhaps  not  much  for  edi- 
lieation.  Besides,  as  told  by  both  parties,  it  has  been  long  in 
}K)int,  and  is  therefore  accessible  to  those  who  are  specially 
anxious  to  know  it.  The  controversy  did  involve  some  impor- 
tant principles  of  church  government,  and  of  submission  to 
lawful  authority,  even  if  not  lovingly  administered  ;  yet  no 
d(.)ctrine  of  grace  or  distinctive  principle  of  the  Church  was 
ever  brouo'ht  in  question.  The  true  source  and  an  ever-present 
element  of  all  the  trouble  were  personal  likes  and  dislikes,  and 
it  is  human  nature  to  treat  Avitli  more  tenderness  and  forbear- 
ance the  words  and  actions  of  those  we  love  than  of  those  who 
have  given  us  cause  of  offence  ;  and  in  any  controversy  among 
fallible  men,  Avrong  on  one  side  is  pretty  sure  to  produce  more 
or  less  wrong  on  the  other  side.  In  this  case,  if  there  had  been 
less  personal  estrangement  and  more  brotherly  love  and  long  suf- 
fering forbearance,  there  would  liavebeen  lessolfence  andtrouble. 
The  writer  was  personal  1}'  acrpiainted  with  nearly  all  the  prom- 
inent actors  in  this  long  drama,  and  is  glad  to  be  able  to  testify 
that  they  were  good  men,  and  that  the  Holy  Ghost  set  the  seal 
of  His  approval  most  unequivocally  upon  the  general  woi'k  of 
their  lives.  The  treasure,  however,  was  in  earthen  vessels,  and 
like  Moses  and  David  and  Peter  these  men  had  their  infirnii- 
ties  and  weakness,  but  "he  that  is  witiiout  sin  among  you,  let 
him  first  cast  a  stone." 

It  is  not  known  when  the  trouble  began,  for  it  had  evidently 
been  festering  some  time  before  it  came  to  the  surface.  For 
sundry  sayings  and  doings,  covering  four  years,  the  Tresbytery, 
on  the  2d  of  September,  1834,  suspended  Dr.  Alexander  Bul- 
li(3ns  from  the  exercise  of  his  ministry  and  from  the  communion 
of  the  Church.  From  this  decision  no  less  than  ten  jjrotests 
and  appeals  went  up  to  the  Synod  which  met  on  the  1st  of 
the  following  October.  After  Synod  had  spent  much  time  and 
W()rried  through  three  of  these,  it  lost  patience  and  referred 
the  "whole  business"  to  a  committee.  This  committee  re- 
l)orted,  and  the  Synod  adopted,  that  "Dr.  Bullions  should  be 
>uspended  from  the  exercise  of  the  ministerial  ofhcc  for  the  term 


PRESBYTEllV    OF    AlKiYLE,  71 

of  two  months,  at  the  exiiiratioii  of  whicli,  the  rreshytery  of 
Cambridge  was  to  rebuke  and  restore  liim  to  office."  This  hist 
part  was  to  bo  done  on  the  foHowing  conditions,  that  "the 
Presbytery  of  Cambridge  require  Dr.  Bullions  to  make  une- 
•  luivoual  confession  of  his  sin  in  the  following  }>arts  of  his 
conduct  and  express  sorrow  for  the  same."  Here  follow  six 
s}ieeitications,  and  (^n  his  submission  to  these  requirements 
"  without  limitation  or  reserve,"  l'resl)ytery  \\'as  '-to  rebuke 
and  lestore  him  to  the  exercise  of  his  ofHce  and  to  the  com- 
munion of  the  Church." 

On  the  4th  of  I)ecend>er  these  i-e([uirements  were  complied 
with,  and  the  Doctor  was  rebuked  and  restored.  This  was 
followed  b}'  the  passage  of  "an  act  of  oblivion  in  regard  to  all 
past  expressjons  marked  or  complained  of,  against  meml)ers  oi 
Tresbytery  till  this  time," 

For  a  season  there  was  no  further  active  trouble,  but  it  was 
very  evident  that  brotherlj'dove  had  not  been  re-established. 
The  Dresbytery  of  Albany  became  distracted  at  this  time  by 
an  oft'-shoot  of  the  same  trouble,  and  this  in  its  retlex  action 
waked  the  old  dithcult}'  in  a  more  serious  shape.  Dr.  Bullions 
was  led  thereby  to  say  some  severe  things  of  four  of  his  co- 
])resbyters,  which  he  could  not  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Presbytery,  and  on  the  5th  of  Octol)er,  1837,  he  was  "  suspended 
from  the  exercise  of  his  ministry  and  the  communion  of  the 
Church,  till  he  give  evidence  of  repentance."  After  a  few 
weeks  the  Doctor  disregarded  this  sentence,  and  on  the  7th  of 
the  following  February,  he  and  a  majority  of  his  congregation 
declined  the  authority  of  the  Presbytery,  and  appealed  in  a  pub- 
lished letter  to  tlie  public,  and  met  no  more  with  the  Presby- 
terv.  During;  the  iiroo^ress  of  these  thino-s  the  Rev.  Duncan 
Stalker  became  involved,  and  was  tem[»orarily  suspended,  so  on 
the  11th  of  April,  1838,  he  declined  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
]*resbytcry  and  withdrew  from  its  meeting.  On  the  following 
day  Mr.  Stalker  and  Dr.  Bullions  were  both  formally  deposed 
from  the  ministry  and  exconnnunicated  with  the  lesser  sentence 
of  exconnnunication. 

By  the  authority  and  direc-tion  of  the  Synod,  the  Presbytery 
of  A'ermont  wa-;  organized  at   IJarnet,  duly  2d,  183S,  and  con- 


i~  IIISTOKV    OF    THE 

sisted  miiiisteridly  of  Thomas  Goodwillie  and  AN^illiaiu 
rringle.  As  J)r.  Goodwillie  Avas  a  brotlier-indaw,  and  Mr. 
l*riiiglc  a  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Bullions,  it  was  very  natural  that 
they  should  sympathize  w'ith  him,  so  one  of  the  first  acts  of 
this  new^  Presbytery  was  to  review  ])r.  Bullion's  ease  and  for- 
mally restore  him  to  the  ministry.  This  added  fuel  to  the  Hame, 
and  the  Synod  on  the  5th  of  June,  1840,  declared  the  I'rcshy- 
tery  of  A'^ermont  dissolved,  its  ministers  suspended,  and  its  con- 
gregations transferred  to  the  l*resl)ytery  of  Caml»ridge,  all  of 
wJiich  the  i'resbytery  disregarded. 

Br.  Bullions,  Mr.  Stalker  and  Archibald  AV^hyte,  who  sym- 
luithized  with  them,  organized  themselves  into  a  Presbytery 
which  they  called  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Cambridge. 
In  the  meantime  the  Presbytery  of  Albany  had  been  rent  in  a 
a  similiar  manner,  and  the  Synod  recognized  the  minority  as 
the  true  I'resbytery.  So  in  Cambridge,  on  the  15th  of  June, 
1841,  the  majority  Presbytery  of  Albany,  the  minority 
Presbytery  of  Cambridge,  and  the  suspended  l*resbytery  of 
Vermont,  met  together  and  organized  a  Synod  to  be  known  as 
the  Associate  Synod  of  ]S^orth  America.  This  organized  schism, 
or  accomplished  secession,  or  whatever  it  may  he  called,  practi- 
cally ended  the  whole  difficulty  so  tar  as  the  Presbytery  was 
concerned,  although  it  was  only  the  beginning  of  trouble  in 
the  congregations  of  the  new  connection,  for  there  was  a  resi- 
duary party  in  each  one. 

Presbytery  of  Cambridge  (Now  Connection.) 

As  the  history  of  this  body  is  short,  and  to  prevent  confu- 
sion, it  is  given  here  in  full.  The  precise  date  of  its  organiza- 
tion cannot  be  given,  and  its  minutes  cannot  l)e  found,  but  it 
was  most  probably  in  1838  or  '9,  and  was  intended  to  be  a  con- 
tinuation of  /Ac  Cambridgt;  Presbytery.  It  consisted  of  Br, 
Alexander  Bullions,  Duncan  Stalker,  and  Archibald  Whyte, 
ministers.  Its  congregations  were  in  Cambridge,  North  Argyle,. 
and  a  newly  formed  one  about  a  mile  north  of  AVest  Hebron. 
Daniel  McB.  Quackenbush,  wdio  had  been  educated  at  Colum- 
bia College,  and  the  Dutch  Beformed  Theological  Semifiary,  at 
Xcw  Brunswick,  Xew  Jersey,  was  licensed  l)y  the  Presbytery 


PRESBYTERY    (»F    ARGYLE.  t-j 

of  New  York  in  1S39,  and  ordained  and  installed  in  the  new 
Hebron  cluireli  in  December,  1841.  Here  be  remained  till  the 
summer  of  1847,  when  he  was  released,  and  on  the  loth  of 
Novend^er,  1848,  received  a  certificate  of  dismission,  and  united 
with  tlie  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  in  which  lie  still  (1880V 
labors  as  pastor  of  Prospect  Hill,  on  Eighty -fifth  street,  ]Nov,- 
York  city, 

An(h"ew  Shiland,  who  had  received  his  theological  trainiuu^ 
at  Princeton  Seminary,  was  licensed  by  the  l*resbytery  in  the 
autumn  of  184i>,and  was  ordained  and  installed,  November  2-3 
1847,  by  the  New  York  l.'resbyter\-,  o^•er  a  small  ephemeral 
church  in  Southwark,  Philadelphia.  This  he  resigne<l  on  the 
l:)th  of  July,  1848,  and  was  installed  in  the  Hebron  church  on 
the  16th  of  January,  1849.  During  tlie  autumn  of  1852,  he 
resigned  this  charge  and  received  a  certificate  of  dismission  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  congregation  never  sought 
another  pastor,  and  after  dwindling  nearly  away,  sold  its  neat 
brick  meeting  house  to  the  Covenanter  congregation  of  Argyle 
and  Hebron,  and  disbandecL 

In  Septemljcr  1842,  David  Goodwillie  Bullions  was  ordained 
and  installed  as  co-pastor  with  his  father  in  Cambridge.  In 
1851,  Mr.  Stalker  was  laid  aside  from  the  work  of  the  minis- 
tiy  ^^y  paralysis,  and  in  June,  1852,  he  resigned  his  cliarge.  In 
dune,  1858,  the  Kev.  William  E.  Henning  was  ordained  and 
installed  as  liis  successor  in  North  Argyle,  and  still  remains  its 
]iastor. 

Mr.  William  W.  Harsha  became  a  student  of  theology  under 
the  care  of  Presbytery  and  pursued  his  studies  under  the  dircn- 
tion  of  Dr.  Bullions,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in  the  autumn 
of  1845,  and  a  year  afterwards  was  ordained  and  installed  as 
pastor  of  a  small  church  in  Galena,  Illinois.  Mr.  llobert  Bur- 
gess was  licensed  by  Presbytery  in  the  sj)ring  of  1848,  and 
while  missionating  in  Illinois  during  the  summer  1850,  left  the 
Church  without  its  knowledge,  and  connected  with  another  de- 
nomination. 

In  tlie  sunnner  of  1854,  the  two  Associate  Synods  met  and 
formed  a  union  in  All.)any,  but  the  two  I*resbyteries  of  Cam- 
bridge did  not  immediately  fuse,  l>ut  retained  their  sejiarate 


74  IlISTOIJY    OF    THE 

o);o-anizations  as  the  First  and  Second  I'resbyteries  of  Cam- 
bridge till  tlie  17tli  of  June,  1856,  when  thej'  united,  and  the 
schism  of  eighteen  j-ears  was  terminated. 

The  Presbytery  of  Cambridge  (Original). 

Kesuming  tlie  history  of  the  old  Presbytery,  the  first  i)ici<lent 
ti3  be  noticed  is  the  organization  of  a  second  church  in  Cam- 
bridge. When  Dr.  Bullions  and  the  majority  of  his  congre- 
gation declined  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Presl^ytery,  February 
7,  1838,  there  was  a  minority  headed  by  one  or  two  Elders 
which  clung  to  their  old  ecclesiastical  home;  and  on  the  15th 
<if  February,  the  Rev.  A.  Anderson  met  with  them  and  con- 
stituted their  session,  and  tlie  Presbytery  recognized  them  as 
llie  Associate  Congregation  of  Cambridge.  James  Law  was 
licensed  in  1838,  and  Isaac  Law  and  Archibald  Reid  in  1840. 

In  Jamiary,  1841,  the  congregation  of  Cambridge  gave  a 
call  to  Mr.  J.  M.  French,  which  was  declined  ;  and  then  called 
Archibald  Reid,  who  accepted  on  the  10th  of  November,  1841, 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  January  20, 1842,  and  remained 
till  his  death  in  the  spring  of  1847. 

In  September,  1841,  the  united  congregations  of  Ilinchin- 
brook.  Beech  Ridge,  and  llemmingsford,  in  Lower  Canada, 
gave  a  call  to  Isaac  Law,  which  he  declined,  but  ottered  tt)  go 
and  serve  them  as  stated  suppl}-,  and  with  this  view  was  oi-- 
'dained  in  Salem  on  the  27th  of  Januarj',  1842.  In  DecenJjer, 
1842,  the  residuary  churches  in  Barnet  and  Ryegate,  Vermont, 
gave  a  call  to  Isaac  Law,  which  I'resbyterj  advised  him  to  ac- 
cept, and  he  ex[»ressed  his  willingness  to  do  so,  but  in  the 
spring  of  1843,  the  Canada  churches  gave  him  a  second  call, 
and  the  Preslntery  referred  l)Oth  to  Synod,  wdiich  advised  him 
to  go  to  Canada.  lie  went  forthwith  to  C/anada,  but  from 
various  causes  the  time  of  his  installation  was  postpc^ned 
again  and  again,  so  that  he  was  never  installed  there,  lie  left 
tiiese  churches  in  the  summer  of  1847. 

The  Rev.  A.  (Jlordon  was  released  from  the  Putnam  church 
on  the  3d  of  August,  1842. 

About  1840, the  Presbytery  resolved  upon  doing  something  for 
the  promotion  of  academic  education  and  under  circumstances 


PRESByXERV    OF    AIKiVLE.  <5 

where  they  could  retain  their  students  under  their  iinnie(liato 
<leiioininational  influence.  An  agreement  was  made  with  the 
Washington  County  Academy-  in  Canihridge  which  gave  tlieni 
some  special  privileges,  and  the  Presbytery  with  the  aid  of 
William  Stevenson,  Esq.,  erected  and  furnished  a  boarding 
house  to  be  under  their  exclusive  control.  The^^  called  it  "The 
<'anil)ridge  Missionar}'  Institute,"  and  flnished  it  in  June,  1843, 
at  an  expense  of  $2,400. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  1844,  the  congregation  of  English 
Kiver  in  Lower  C/anada  was  organiz;ed,  and  in  connection  with 
the  churches  of  Beach  Ridge  and  Hinchinbrook,  called,  August 
the  20th,  Mr.  Jacob  Fisher,  which  he  declined.  In  May,  184G, 
they  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  James  Law,  which  on  the  15th  of 
June,  he  declined,  and  accepted  a  call  to  Big  Spring  and  Pistol 
Oreek,  in  Tennessee. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1844,  Salem  called  Mr.  Jacob  Fisher,  but 
he  declined.  In  iSTovember,  1845,  they  called  Mr.  Samuel  F. 
Morrow,  who,  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month,  declined  this  call 
and  accepted  one  from  the  church  in  Alban}'.  On  the  11th  of 
February,  1847,  they  gave  a  call  to  Mr.  David  W.  Frencli, 
which  he  accepted,  and  was  there  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
8th  of  the  next  September,  and  remained  till  the  sprins;  of 
1855. 

October  8,  1844,  the  congregation  in  Putnam  gave  a  call  to 
Jacob  Fisher,  which  they  afterwards  withdrew,  deeming  it 
unnecessary  to  prosecute  it.  In  January,  1847,  they  gave  a 
•call  to  Jose[)h  I).  Wolf,  whicli  was  afterwards  withdrawn.  In 
May.  1846,  A.  Story  was  called  and  declined.  On  the  21st 
of  April,  1847,  they  gave  a  call  to  Rev.  Isaac  Law,  which  he 
accepted,  Julv  7,  and  was  installed,  October  the  7th,  and  re- 
tained the  charge  till  his  death  on  the  28th  of  Januar}-,  186 1, 

The  residuarN'  churches  in  Barnet  and  Ryegategave  a  call  in 
Jime,  1845  to  James  C.  llerron,  which  he  declined.  In  Felnni- 
ary  of  the  next  year  they  called  James  MeArthur,  who  accepted 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  11th  of  September,  184(3. 
Isaac  Law  and  Archibald  Reid  were  appointed  to  officiate  upon 
this  occasion  and  they  reported  to  Presbytery  at  its  next  meet- 
ing that  they  had  tultillel  their  ajipointment.    There  is  no  evi- 


70  HISTORY    OF    THE 

<1ence  tliat  they  organized  as  a  Presl^ytery,  and  yet  they  may 
liave  done  so.  Soon  after  this,  Messrs.  Law  and  McArthnr  wciv 
appointed  toonhiin  and  install  Mr.  Austin  in  Canada,  but  upon 
that  occasion  they  organized  as  a  Presbytery,  and  reported  a 
minute  of  their  proceedings. 

On  tlic  15th  of  July,  1846,  Moses  Arnot  was  ordained,  in 
view  of  an  immediate  settlement  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  and 
on  the  17th  of  July,  1819,  James  N^.  Shankland  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  gospel. 

In  April,  1847,  the  elnirch  in  Cambridge  gave  a  call  to  the 
Rev.  A.  Anderson,  which  was  declined,  and  on  the  25th  of  the 
following  August  they  called  Mr.  Hugh  K.  Lusk.  He  accepted 
on  the  8th  of  September,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
20th  of  October.  He  served  them  till  the  6th  of  May,  18-37, 
when  his  resignation  was  accepted.  This  congregation  preserved 
a  nominal  existence  for  about  two  years  longer,  and  then  dis- 
banded, the  members  distributing  themselves  among  the  neigh- 
boring  United  Presbyterian  churches. 

The  Associate  Synod  at  its  meeting  in  1847,  elected  the  Kev. 
Abraham  Anderson,  D.  D.,  to  a  professorship  in  its  Theological 
Seminary  in  Canonsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  consequence  of  ^\hich 
lie  resigned  his  pastoral  relation  to  the  church  in  Hebron,  on 
the  8th  of  the  succeeding  September.  During  the  following 
March  this  congregation  called  Mr.  James  Ballantine,  and  it 
resulted  in  his  ordination  and  installation  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1848.  After  a  little  more  than  a  year  this  pastorate 
was  suddenly  terminated  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Ballantine.  Tliey 
then,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1850,  gave  a  call  to  the  Ilev.  Joseph 
ISIcKee,  Avho  had  been  appointed  as  missionary  to  Oregon. 
This  call  he  accepted  and  was  installed  on  the  20th  of  the  fol- 
lowing March,  and  remained  till  the  1st  of  July,  1857,  when 
he  resigned  and  removed  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  September,  1847,  the  congregations  of  Hemmingsford  and 
Tlinchinbrook  sfave  a  call  to  James  G.  Austin,  which  led  to  liis 
ordination  and  installation  on  the  6th  of  July,  1848.  In  the 
summer  of  1851,  he  left  Canada  and  the  l)Ounds  of  the  Presby- 
tery, and  these  congregations  in  the  following  February  called 


PKE.Sl'.YTERV    OF    Ai:i!VI,lv  77 

Mr.  Williaiu  Hawthorne,  wlio  accepted  and  was  ordained  and 
iDstalled  September,  2G,  1852. 

On  the  Uth  of  May,  1849,  a  petition  was  received  "from  a 
number  of  members  of  the  Associate  Church  residing  in  and 
near  East  Greenwich,  for  the  erection  of  a  new  cono-regation 
in  that  vicinit}-."  This  was  granted,  and  on  the  30th  of  Mny, 
Mr.  French  organized  a  cluircli  with  fifty-tbur  members,  and  on 
the  oOth  of  August  ordained  and  installed  its  elders.  This  newly 
organized  chnrcli  on  the  21st  of  February,  1850,  called  Mr. 
Joso}th  Mclvirahan,  who  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  23d 
of  .Vi>ril.  lie  resigned  May  24,  1854,  and  was  succeeded  by 
JohnB.  Dunn,  who  was  called  in  April, 1857,  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  on  the  12th  of  the  following  ISTovember. 

At  the  request  of  certain  persons  in  Warren  county,  I'resl)}-- 
tery  sent  Mr.  Ballantine,  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  to  explore  the 
region  around  the  head  of  Lake  (ireorge.  Others  followed  him, 
and  in  September,  1850,  Mr.  French  organized  a  congregation 
in  the  town  of  (^ueensbury,  of  twenty-one  mend)ers.  Mr. 
John  Altson,  Alexander  Orr  and  William  Hiddleston  were  or- 
dained ruling  elders.  Tliey  received  sup[)ly  from  time  to  time 
till  the  1st  of  July,  1857,  when  the  liev.  Chauncy  Webster  was 
installed  as  pastor  for  half  of  his  time,  giving  the  other  half  to 
a  missionary  station  in  Glenn's  Falls.  They  built  a  snug  little 
rhurch  at  the  French  M(nintain,  and  in  three  years  nund>ered 
about  fifty  members.  In  1800  Mr.  \Vcl)ster  resigned,  and  the 
Queensbury  congregation  finally  merged  into  a  Fresbytei-ian 
church. 

The  Associate  S^'uod  at  its  meeting  in  New  York  in  May, 
1850,  elected  the  liev.  James  1'.  Miller  as  its  missionary  to 
Oregon.  In  consequence  of  this  liis  ].)astoral  relation  with  the 
church  in  South  Argyle  was  terminated  in  Marcii,  1851. 
This  church,  Afarch  14th,  1852,  called  Mr.  James  Thompson, 
who  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  .Jul\' 13th, following. 
Having  received  a  call  to  the  Mission  Church  in  ^ew  York 
city,  he  was  transferred  to  it  on  the  29th  of  March,  1853.  On 
the  second  Wednesday  of  May,  1853,  South  Argyle  gave  a  call  to 
the  llev.  Josepli  Thompson,  but  upon  hearing  that  he  had  ac- 
oepted  a  call  in  the  Fresbyter}^  of  Chartiers,  it  was  Avithdrawn. 


78  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Oil  tlio  25tli  of  Muy,  1854,  they  called  Alexander  Thompson^ 
wlio  accepted  upon  the  condition  that  he  would  be  allowed  tc> 
iill  out  his  Synodic  appointments,  but  ere  that  was  done  he 
died.  In  October,  1856,  Mr.  James  A.  Dutt'  received  a  call^ 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  od  of  the  following  Feb- 
ruary. 

In  1850,  the  liev.  John  G.  Smart,  D.  1).,  having  retired  from 
the  pastorate,  made  his  home  at  Coila,  and  remained  an  acti\'e 
and  usehd  mend:>cr  of  Presbytery  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  John  Gardner  Smart  was  born  in  Huntingdon,  Penn- 
s\dvania,  August  the  3d,  1804;  »was  graduated  at  Jetterson  Col- 
lege, and  studied  theology  under  Dr.  Banks  in  Philadelphia^ 
during  which  time  he  brought  out  the  first  American  edition 
of  Cicero's  Orations,  with  notes  in  English,  long  known  as 
Smart's  Cicero.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  on  the  17th  of 
August,  1826,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  or- 
dained by  the  Presbytery  of  CanJjridge  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1829.  He  was  installed  as  pastor  in  Johnstown,  Fulton 
county,  by  tlie  Presbytery  of  Albany,  on  the  21st  of  July,  1830. 
He  resigned  Johnstown  in  September,  1837,  and  was  installed 
as  pastor  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  May  2d,  1838.  This  charge 
he  resigned  in  June,  1850,  and  retired  to  Coila  in  Xew  York. 
He  died  July  18th,  1862. 

Dr.  Smart  was  very  methodical  in  the  arrangement  of  his 
sermons,  and  always  neat  and  clear  in  style.  His  enunciation 
was  distinct,  his  manner  pleasant  but  not  very  energetic.  His 
discourses  were  uniformly  instructive  and  edifvintr.  He  was  a 
very  useful  member  of  ecclesiastical  courts,  because  of  his  wis- 
dom, knowledge,  and  ]>robity.  He  was  kind,  courteous  and 
hos}iitable,  although  a  little  stiff  in  his  manner  to  strangers  S(> 
that  he  was  often  misjudged. 

Sherrington,  in  Lower  Canada,  was  organized  on  the  26th  of 
Februar}',  1852,  with  a  membership  of  forty,  and  at  the  same 
ti)ne  gave  a  call  to  A.  C.  Stewart.  Mr.  Stewart  accepted  the 
call  on  the  2d  of  March,  and  had  subjects  of  trial  for  ordination 
assigned  to  him.  These  trial  exercises  he  delivered  on  the  22d 
of  September,  but  Presbytery  declined  to  sustain  them,  and 
directed  him  to  re-Avrite  them  for  the  next  meetinu;.     In  Octo- 


PRESBYTEllY    ()?    AIIGYLE,  19 

\kt  lie  deliveredthe.se,  but  rresbytery  still  rctused  uiuminiously 
to  inH-ept,  jind  ;xssio;ned  a  ii(?\v  subject  for  critical  exercise.  On 
the  4tli  of  May,  1858,  ]\ri*.  Stewart  appeared  a<^aiu  before  J'res- 
In'tery,  and  when  the  vote  for  sustaining  his  trials  in  cuiaido 
was  taken,  it  was  decided  unanimously  not  to  sustain,  and  "it 
was  agreed  that  he  be  notified  that  he  cannot  be  employed  in 
Canada  East  longer  tlian  till  tlie  next  meeting  of  ISynod,  and 
that  he  l)e  advised  in  a  friendly  manner  of  the  views  of  Pres- 
bytery in  relation  to  his  license  being  continued." 

On  the  loth  of  November,  1853,  Gilbert  Small  was  licensed,, 
and  on  the  22d  of  October,  1855,  Gilbert  Hamilton  Robertson 
was  also  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel. 

On  the  2d  of  January,  1856,  the  cliurch  of  jSTorth  Argyle 
with  its  pastor,  Mr,  W.  E.  Ilenning,  hitherto  under  the  care  of 
the  Second  Presbytery,  applied  for  admission.  This'  was 
granted,  and  the  Synod  at  its  next  meeting,  May  the  25th,  or- 
dered the  consolidation  of  these  two  Presbyteries  ;  and  on  the 
17th  of  June,  1856,  the  First  and  Second  Presbyteries  of  C^am- 
l)ridge  met  in  South  Argyle,  and  were  constituted  as  one  l*res- 
l)ytery.  J)r.  Bullions  preached  the  opening  sermon  from  l*salm 
122:6,  and  led  in  the  prayer  of  institution. 

In  Januar\',  1857,  the  church  in  East  Salem  gave  a  call  to 
Mr.  J.  B.  Dunn  which  he  declined.  On  the  7th  of  April,  1858. 
the  church  at  West  Hebron  gave  a  call  to  Mr.  W.  M.  Coleman, 
which  he  also  declined.  On  the  14th  of  July,  1857,  the  church 
in  Coila  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  TTenry  Gordon  of  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church,  to  be  the  assistant  and  successor  of  Dr. 
Bullions.  This  he  accepted  and  was  installed  on  the  1st  of 
September. 

In  July,  1857,  the  Rev.  Hugh  Brown,  stated  su[tply  to  a  con- 
gregation in  Spencerville,  a  few  miles  north  of  l*rescott  in 
Upi)er  Canada,  aitplied  for  admission  to  the  l^resbytery,  and 
was  admitted  on  the  1st  of  September  to  membership.  On  the 
12th  of  Xovcmber  the  church  in  Spencerville  was  also  received 
under  the  care  of  Presbytery,  and  on  the  18th  of  the  same 
month  Mr.  Brown  was  installed  as  their  pastor.  Two  months 
after  this,  the  congregation  reconsidered  their  movement  and 
placed  themselves  under  the  care  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in 


80  HTSTOUY    OF    THE 

<'an;ula.  Mr.  Brown  was  ojijioscd  to  this,  and  on  tlie  \Hh  of 
February,  1858,  the  I'resbytery  dechired  liira  released  from  his 
liast()ral  relation.  On  the  7th  of  April,  Mr.  Brown  received  a 
-eall  from  the  congregation  in  East  Salem,  and  was  installed 
there  on  the  4th  of  May,  1858. 

In  the  spring  of  1859,  a  congregation  was  organized  at  (irori', 
ji  few  miles  north  of  Ilinchinhrook,  in  C^anada  East. 

The  Presbytery  held  its  linal  meeting  in  Soutli  Arg3de  on 
the  25th  of  October,  1859,  the  same  day  that  the  United  I'res- 
b3'terian  l*resl)yter3'  of  Argyle  was  organized  b\'  tlie  union  of 
the  I'resbyteries  of  Washington  and  Caml)ridge. 

lAst  of  vVssociatc  Ministers. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  ministers  reare<l  or  educated 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Cambridge. 

John  Mnsliat  was  born  in  Argyle;  was  educated  at  Union 
College  and  nnder  Dr.  Anderson;  was  licensed  Septend^er  20th, 
1809;  was  ordained  iSeptember  18,  1811,  and  subsequently  in- 
stalled at  Virgin  Springs,  IS^orth  Carolina;  he  gave  u[»  the  ex- 
ercises of  the  ministry  in  1825,  Ijecause  of  indisposition  ;  was 
reported  an  able  and  ekx^uent  preacher;  he  subsequently  l)e- 
came  a  lawyer,  and  possibly  an  unbeliever. 

David  French  was  l)orn  in  Salem  in  1783;  was  graduated  at 
Union  College  and  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Anderson  ;  was 
licensed  November  1st,  1809  ;  was  ordained  and  installed  by 
the  Chartiers  Presbytery  at  Buffalo,  Washington  county, 
l*ennsylvania,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1811  ;  remained  in  charge  till 
January-  3d,  1854;  died  March  30th,  1855.  An  excellent  man 
who  gave  live  of  liis  sons  t#  the  ministry. 

Alexander  McClelland,  D.  D.,LL.  D.,was  born  at  Schenectady 
in  1794;  was  graduated,  when  sixteen  years  old,  at  Union  C  college, 
studied  theology  under  Dr.  Anderson ;  was  licensed  by  the  Char- 
tiers  Presbytery  September  29th,  1813;  was  ordained  in  1815 
and  installed  as  pastor  of  Rutgers'  Street  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York;  was  Professor  of  Moral  and  Mental  Philosophy  in 
Dickinson  College,  Pennsylvania,  from  1822  to  1829,  nnd  in 
the  College  and  Theolo^-ical  Seminarv  at  New  Brunswick  he 


I'KESDYTERY    oF    AlUiVLi:.  81 

tilled  professoi-.sliips  IVoni  1S2'.)  till   his  (UmIIi    Di'cumhor   I'.^tli, 
1 864.     As  a  teacher  he  had  no  superior. 

Thomas  Beveridge,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Camhridgo,  October 
IHh,  179G  ;  was  })rcparod  for  college  l)y  Drs.  A.  Ileroii  and 
Alex.  Bullions ;  was  graduated  at  Union  College  in  1814; 
studied  theology  with  Dr.  Anderson  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Char- 
tiers  Presbytery  August  ISth,  1819;  on  the  2i)tli  of  August, 
1820,  he  delivered  his  trials  for  ordination  before  the  Presby- 
tery of  Cambridge  which  were  sustained,  and  he  was  so  certi- 
fied to  the  Presbytery  of  Kentucky,  which  ordained  him  at 
Xenia,  and  installed  him  as  pastor  of  Xenia  and  Sugar  Creek 
on  the  yth  of  January,  1S21  ;  resigned  this  charge  February, 
^1824,  on  account  of  ill-health;  was  installed  in  May,  1828,  as 
pastor  of  the  t-hurch  in  Philadelphia;  was  elected  in  October, 
1835,  as  l*rofessor  of  Theology;  and  soeontinued  till  his  death. 
May  the  30th,  1873. 

Chauncey  Webster  was  born  in  Hartford,  Washington  county, 
New  York,  May  20,  1799  ;  was  a  printer  in  Albany,  wdiere  he 
was  ordained  by  IJr.  Martin  as  ruling  elder,  April  9,  1826; 
studied  theology  at  Canonsburg,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Albany,  duly  20,  183G  ;  was  ordained  and  installed 
pastor  of  the  First  Associate  congregation  of  I'hiladelphia, 
Xovember  2,  1837.  He  was  subsequently  pastor  of  the  con- 
gregations in  (^ueensbury,  X"ew^  York,  and  llinchinbrook, 
Canada,  and  died  at  Webster's  Mills,  Fulton  county,  Peimsyl- 
vania,  April  18,  1880. 

James  Irvine  was  born  in  dackson  about  the  year  1800;  was 
graduated  at  Union  College,  and  studied  theology  under  Dr. 
Banks  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Kentucky  ;  was  or- 
dained and  installed  in  Hebron  on  the  7th  of  July,  182.4  ;  was  in- 
stalled on  the  17th  of  Xovember,  1831,  over  the  Second  Church 
in  Xew  York  city;  died  Xovember  25th,  1835, 

Thomas  Goodwillie,  1>.  1).,  was  born  in  Barnet,  Vermont 
September  27,  1800 ;  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1820;  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Banks;  w^as  licensed  Septem- 
ber 23d,  1823;  was  ordained  on  the  28th  of  September,  1826, 
as  assistant  and  successor  of  his  father;  retained  charge  till  his 
death  on  the  11th  of  February,  18G7. 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE 

David  Goodwillio,  D.  J3.,  was  born  in  Barnet,  A^ermoiit, 
Ancrust  28,  1802  ;  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1820  : 
studied  theology  with  Dr.  Banks  ;  was  licensed  Se[)teniber  23d, 
1823;  was.  ordained  and  installed,  April  26th,  1826,  by  the 
Ohio  Presbytery,  as  jiastor  of  Deer  Creek,  Poland  and  Lil)ert\': 
resigned  August  30th,  1875,  and  still  lives. 

Archibald  Whyte,  jr.,  was  born  in  Argyle,  August  3d,  1800:. 
was  graduated  at  Union  College  in  1822  ;  studied  theology  witli 
Dr.  Baidvs;  was  licensed  June  19th,  1820  ;  Avas  ordained  and 
installed  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  December  5th,  1827  ;  in  1833 
became  pastor  of  Steele  Creek  and  Bethany  in  South  Carolina; 
in  1839  declined  the  authority  of  the  Associate  Synod  because 
of  its  action  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  died  in  September. 
1865. 

James  Martin,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  All)any,  May  12th,  179.), 
but  was  reared  in  Argyle;  was  graduated  in  1819,  at  Union 
(yollege;  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Banks;  was  licensed  Sep- 
tember 2d,  1822;  was  ordained  and  installed  in  Albany,  May 
10th,  1824  ;  in  1842  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Theology ;  died 
at  Canonsburg,  June  loth,  1846. 

Findley  W.  McJ^aughton  was  born  in  Argyle  ;  was  graduated 
at  Union  College,  and  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Banks  ;  was 
licensed  the  19th  of  June,  1826  ;  was  ordained  and  installed 
as  pastor  of  Mercersburg  and  the  Cove  in  l*ennsylvania,  on  the 
20th  of  May,  1828,  by  tlie  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  ;  re- 
signed in  1857,  and  is  now  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

William  Easton,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Ancrum,  Scotland,  Octo- 
ber 2d,  1804;  was  reared  in  Argyle,  and  was  fitted  for  college 
by  Dr.  A.  Bullions  ;  was  graduated  at  Union  College  ;  studied 
theology  with  Dr.  Banks;  was  licensed  in  September,  1826; 
was  ordained  and  installed  at  Oetoraro,  Pennsylvania,  June 
7th,  1827;  resigned  October,  1878;  died  June  12th,  1879. 

Horatio  Thompson,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Jackson;  was  grad- 
uated at  Union  (/oUege;  was  recognized  by  Presbytery  as  a 
student  of  theolog}',  February  2d,  1825;  studied  theolog}'  with 
Dr.  Banks;  was  licensed  July  10th,  1828,  by  the  Cambridge 
Presbytery;  was  orda'ned  by  the  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas, 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AROYLE.  F3 

]Sfarcli,  1834,  and  iiistiillcd  pastor  of  Ebonczer,  Timber  Ridge 
and  Broad  Creek,  Virginia;  in  1.S39  lie  declined  the  authority 
of  the  Associate  Synod  because  of  its  action  ui)on  the  subject 
of  slavery;  joined  the  Associate  Eefornied  S\-no(l  of  the  South, 
and  has  ever  since  been  pastor  of  the  Associate  Refornied  con- 
gregations of  Timber  Ridge  and  Old  Providence  in  Virginia. 

James  AIcGeoch  was  born  in  North  Hebron,  July  23,  1805: 
was  graduated  at  Union  College;  was  received  as  a  student  of 
theology  September  15,  1825,  spent  some  time  with  Dr.  A. 
Bullions;  then,  1828  and  '9, in  Edinburgh, Scotland;  finished  at 
Princeton  ;  ordained  and  installed  in  the  I'resbyterian  Church 
in  Bloomington,  Illinois,  where  he  died,  September  13,  1833. 

David  Gordon  was  born  in  Scotland;  studied  theology  with 
Dr.  Alex.  Bullions;  was  licensed  in  June,  1830;  was  ordained 
and  installed  at  East  Salem,  May  2d,  1832;  went  to  Trinidad 
as  a  missionary  in  1843,  and  died  there  December  30th,  1844. 

John  S.  Easton,  D.  T).,  was  born  in  Ancrum,  near  Jedburgh, 
in  Scotland,  August  7,  1806;  was  reared  in  Argyle;  was  edu- 
cated at  Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary; 
was  licensed  June  24,  1834,  by  the  J'hiladelphia  Presbytery  ; 
was  ordained,  May  5th,  1830,  and  installed  pastor  of  Stone 
Valley,  Jjewistown  and  Kishacoquillas  congregations,  Pennsyl- 
vania; after  holding  two  or  three  otlier  pastorates  he  died  on 
the  25th  of  July,  1879. 

Edward  Small  was  born  in  Cambridge;  was  educated  at 
Union  Collcij^e  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary;  was 
licensed  June  13th,  1837,  by  the  Chartiers  Presbytery;  was  or- 
dained October  8th,  1839,  by  the  Shenango  Presbytery,  and  is 
now  without  a  charge  at  ]\[ercer,  PennsN'lvania. 

George  M.  llall  was  born  in  Hebron,  December  20th,  1807; 
was  educated  at  Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological 
Seminary;  was  licensed  July  8th,  1835,  by  the  Chartiers  Pres- 
bytery; was  ordained  September  16th,  1836,  by  the  Miami 
l*resbytery,  and  installed  pastor  of  Madison  and  Big  Creek, 
Indiana;  after  holding  several  other  pastoral  charges,  died  with- 
out charge  at  Cambridge,  December  27th,  1874. 

Samuel  Mc Arthur  was  born  in  Cambridge;  was  educated  at 
Union    College  and  Canonsburg  Theological   Seminary;   was 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE 

licensed  June  loth,  1837,  by  the  Cliartiers  I'resbytery;  was  or 
dained,  November  1st,  1838,  by  the  Muskingum  Presbytery  ; 
and  is  now  at  New  Concord,  Ohio,  without  charge. 

John  W.  llarsha  was  born  in  Argyle;  was  educated  at  Union 
College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary;  was  licensed  in 
1838;  accepted  a  call  to  West  Beaver,  &c.,  July  1st,  1839;  was 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  Ohio  Presbytery,  April  28tli, 
1840;  and  is  now  without  charge  at  South  Argyle. 

James  Law  was  born  in  Salem  in  1810;  was  educated  at 
Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminar}-;  was 
licensed  July  17th,  1838;  was  ordained  by  the  Richland  l*res- 
bytery,  May  13th,  1840;  accepted  a  call,  June  15,  1846,  to  Big 
Spring  and  Pistol  Creek,  Tennessee,  and  died  without  charge 
in  Philadelphia,  July  26th,  1872. 

Thomas  Gilkerson  was  born  in  Vermont ;  was  educated  at 
Jetterson  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminar}-  ;  was 
licensed  by  the  Chartiers  Presbytery,  July  1st,  1839 ;  was  or- 
dained and  installed  by  the  Allegheny  Presbytery  in  October, 

1840,  as  pastor  of  tlie  congregations  of  Conemaugh  and  War- 
ren; died  Felu'uary  10th,  1859. 

Archibald  Reid  was  born  in  Argyle,  November  12,  1809  ; 
was  educated  at  Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological 
Seminary ;  was  licensed  July  17th,  1840 ;  was  ordained  and 
installed  in  Cambridge,  January  20th,  1842,  and  died  February 
27, 1847. 

Isaac  Law  was  born  in  Salem,  September  3d,  1815  ;  was 
educated  at  Union  C-ollege  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Semi- 
nary ;  was  licensed  June  26th,  1840 ;  was  ordained  January 
27th,  1842,  sine  titulo;  served  several  years  as  stated  supply  in 
Canada  East;  was  installed,  October  7th,  1847,  as  pastor,  in 
Pmtnam,  where  he  died  January  28th,  1861. 

Daniel  McL.  (^uackenbush  was  born  in  Washington  county  ; 
was  educated  at  Cokimbia  College  and  New  Brunswick  Theo- 
logical Seminary  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of 
Cambridge,  in  1839,  and  ordained  and  installed  in  December, 

1841,  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Hebron  congregation;  resigned 
November  15th,  1848  ;  joined  the  Dutch  Church,  and  is  now 
pastor  of  a  church  in  New  York  city. 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGVI.E,  85 

David  G.  Bullions  was  born  in  Cambridge  ;  vva'^  educated  at 
Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary ;  was 
licensed  in  1841  ;  was  ordained  and  installed  in  September, 
1842,  as  the  assistant  of  his  father;  resigned  in  1857,  and  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  West  Milton,  where 
he  died,  October  1st,  1864. 

James  R.  Doig,  D.  i).,  was  born  in  Salem  ;  was  graduated  at 
Union  College;  studied  theology  at  Cixnonsburg  ;  was  licensed 
in  1841  ;  was  ordained  by  Richland  Rresbj^tery,  Septendjer  10, 
1842,   and  is  now  located  at  Vinton,  Iowa. 

IVfoses  Arnott  was  born  in  C^ambridge,  June  18th,  1820 ; 
was  educated  at  Jefierson  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological 
Seminary  ;  was  licensed  in  June  1845  ;  was  ordained  June  loth, 
184G,  by  Ciimbridge  Presbytery,  in  view  of  his  settlement  in 
Indiana,  which  soon  took  place;  died  in  South  Hanover,  Indi- 
ana, July  11th,  1874. 

James  McArthur  was  born  in  Cambridge ;  was  educated  at 
Franklin  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary  ;  was 
licensed  in  1845  ;  was  ordained  and  installed  at  Barnet,  Ver- 
mont, September  11th,  1846;  held  several  other  charges,  and 
is  now  at  Monmouth,  Illinois,  infirm. 

A\^illiam  W.  Harsha,  was  born  in  Plebron ;  was  graduated 
at  Union  College ;  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Alex.  Bullions  ; 
was  licensed  in  the  autumn  of  1845,  by  the  Second  Presbytery 
of  Cambridge ;  was  ordained  in  1846,  and  installed  as  pastor 
of  a  church  in  Galena,  Illinois,  subsequently  went  into  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  wliere  he  has  had  several  charges,  and  is 
now  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois. 

Andrew Shiland,  D.  D.,  was  l)orn  in  Cambridge;  Avas  gradu- 
ated at  Union  College ;  studied  theology  at  Princeton  Semi- 
nary ;  was  licensed  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of  Cambridge  in 
the  autumn  of  1846 ;  was  ordained  and  installed  November  25th, 
1847,  by  the  Presbytery  of  'New  York,  over  a  small  church  in 
Philadelphia ;  in  1849  became  pastor  of  the  Second  Hebron 
Church;  in  1852  he  passed  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
is  now  pastor  of  a  church  in  Long  Island. 

Robert  Burgess  was  born  in  AVashington  county ;  studied 
thcoloocy  under  the  care  of   tlie   Second  Presbytery  of  Cam- 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE 

bridge,  aiul  was  by  it  licensed  in  the  si)ring  of  1848,  and  in 
the  sunnner  of  1850,  passed,  without  asking  for  a  certificate,  to 
another  denomination. 

James  N.  Shankland  was  born  in  Argyle ;  w^as  educated  at 
Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary;  was 
licensed  July  17th,  1840  ;  was  ordained  by  the  Chicago  Pres- 
bytery, April  11th,  1860  ;  is  now^  in  Iowa. 

John  C.  Telford  was  born  in  Jackson  ;  was  educated  at  Jef- 
ferson College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary  ;  was 
licensed  by  the  Chartiers  Presbytery,  June  20th,  1848;  was 
ordained  January  1st,  1850,  by  the  Clarion  Presbytery,  and  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  congregation  of  Mahoning ;  and  is  now 
at  West  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania. 

J.  C.  Murch  was  born  in  Vermont,  March  20th,  1820 ;  was 
graduated  at  Granville  College,  Ohio;  studied  theology  at 
Canonsburg ;  Avas  licensed  by  the  Chartiers  Presbytery,  Octo- 
ber 29th,  1850  ;  was  ordained  by  the  Southern  Indiana  Pres- 
bytery, November  7th,  1851,  sine  titalo  ;  w^as  pastor  of  AVest 
Alexandria  and  Wheeling,  1853-9;  of  New  Concord,  Ohio, 
1860-76;  was  installed  at  Scotch  Ridge,  Ohio,  Januarv  loth, 
1879  ;  died  May  27th,  1879. 

Andrew  M.  Beveridge  was  born  in  Argyle ;  was  educated 
and  ordained  under  Presbyterian  care,  and  is  now  pastor  of 
the  I'resbyterian  Church  in  Lansingburg,  N.  Y. 

Gilbert  Small  was  born  in  Argyle ;  was  educated  at  Union 
College  and  Canonsburg  Theological  Seminary  ;  was  licensed 
November  15th,  1853  ;  was  ordained  by  the  Miami  Presbytery, 
November  1st,  1856,  and  is  now  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Gilbert  Hamilton  Robertson,  1).  D.,  w\ns  born  in  Argyle; 
was  educated  at  Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Seminary  ; 
was  licensed  October  22d,  1855,  by  Cambridge  Presliytery  ;  was 
ordained  and  installed  July  13th,  1858,  by  the  Washington 
Presbytery,  in  Hebron  ;  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1860;  had  charges  in  Illinois  and  Kentucky  ;  is  i^ow  supplying 
the  Protestant  Methodist  Church,  in  Sandwich,  Illinois. 

AVilliam  S.  Smart,  D.  D.,(son  of  Dr.  J.  G.,)  was  licensed  and  or- 
dained in  the  (congregational  Church,  and  is  now  pastor  of 
the  First  Congregational  Society  in  Albany. 


TRE.^nYTERY    OF    ARGYLE. 


87 


Juiues   r.    McArtlRii-   was   l)oni  in   Jackson,  Wusliiiig'on 

voimty,  New  York,  October  22a,  1827  ;  was  crraduated  at  Union 

College,  and  studied  theology  at  Canonsburg  and   Xenia;  was 

licensed  by  Miami  Presbytery  in  1857, and  died  Aprill5,1850, 

)t'  typhoid  fever. 

John  Gardner  Smart  (son  of  Dr.  d.  G.,)  was  born  in  Ikilti- 
more,  Maryland,  in  1840;  was  graduated  at  Amherst  C-ollege; 
studied  theology  at  Princeton;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Xew  Brunswick,  in  1871;  and  Avas  ordained  and  installed 
by  the  Dutch  Classis  of  Saratoga,  April,  1872,  as  pastor  of  the 
Dutch  Ghurch  of  (Jreenwich,  K  Y. 


88 


HISTORY   OF    THE 


on  AFTER  IV. 

United  Presbyteruiii,  1851)-1880. 

jlIE  Ihiitod  rresbyteriau  Synod  of  J^^ew  York  at  its  first 
meeting  in  York,  Livingston   county,  on  tlie  15th  of 
October,  1858,  ordered  tlie  erection  of  the  rresl)ytery 
of  Argyle,  to  be  composed  of  the  United  Tresbyterian  ministers 
and  congregations   within   "tliose   i)ortions    of  the   State   of 
l^ew  York  and  of  the  Province  of  Canada  East,  lying  within 
the  present  boundaries  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Cambridge  and 
Washington."     In  accordance  with  this  act  a  meeting  was  held 
in  the  South  Argyle  Church,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1859,  when 
the  Rev.  George  Mairs  preached  from  11.  Samuel,  23 :  5,  and 
constituted  the  United  Presbyterian  Presbytery  of  Argyle  with 
prayer.     The  following  roll  of  ministers  was  made  out:  Peter 
Campbell,  George  Mairs,  John  G.  Smart,  Chauncy  Webster, 
James  Law,  John  W.  Ilarsha,  Isaac  Law,  Hugh  Brown,  James 
B.  Scouller,  Henry  Gordon,  James  Forsythe,  William  Haw- 
thorne, AYilliam  E.  Ilenning,  William  B.   Shortt,  James  A. 
Dutf,  G.  Hamilton  Robertson,  John  B.  Dunn,  John   Crawford 
and  John  Harper.     All  of  whom  were  i.rcsent  except  Camp- 
bell, Ilarsha,  Hawthorne,  Forsythe  and  Crawford.    Also  ruling 
elders,  George  McGeoch,  Alexander  P.  Robinson,  Daniel  Mv- 
Farland,  Robert  McGeoch,  William  McjS'eill,  William  Barkley 
and  Samuel  Dobbin.     The  congregations  under  the  care  of  the 
Predjytery  were  Salem,  Cambridg^e,  Coila,  South  Argyle,  Heb- 
ron, Argyle,  AYest  Hebron,  Putnam,  East  Salem, North  Argvle, 
East  Greenwich,  Queensbury,  Ilenmiingsford,  Ilinchenbrciok^ 
Gore,  Covey  Hill  and  Lisbon.     The  Rev.  W.  E.  Ilennincr  was 
elected  moderator,  and  the  Rev.  G.  IL  Rol)ertson,  stated  clerk. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  1860,  Mr.  Hawthorne  resigned  the  pasto- 
rate of  Hemmingsford  and  Hinchenbrook  in  (^anada  East,  be- 
cause of  their  inability  to  supjiort  him.    He  remained, however. 
Avith  them, and  in  the  summer  of  1862  Hemmincrsford  and  Covev 


PRESBYTERY    OV    AllGYLE.  S9 

Hill  gave  him  a  cull,  whicli  he  aeco[)te(l  eonditioiially,  but  was 
never  installed.  On  the  3(1  of  Sei»teniber,  18G1,  llinchenbrook 
(afterwards  called  Rockbnrn)  and  Gore,  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev.  C. 
\V^c'l)ster,  which  he  accepted  and  was  installed  soon  afterwards. 
In  the  autunni  of  1862  the  Synod  of  New  York  erected  a  new 
Presbytery  lobe  called  the  Presbytery  of  St.  Jjawrence,  to  em- 
brace John  Harper  and  his  charge  in  Lisbon,  and  the  Canada 
congregations  with  their  pastors,  Hawthorne  and  Webster. 
These  congregations  have  never  since  been  connected  with  Ar- 
gyle  Presbytery.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  state,  that  in 
1870,  Mr.  Hawthorne  gdve  up  his  charge  and  retired  to  his 
farm  across  the  border  in  the  State  of  New  ^"ork.  In  the  same 
year,  Mr.  AV'ebster  resigned  and  retired  from  the  active  duties 
of  the  ministry,  and  resided  at  Webster's  Mills,  in  Fulton 
,/  county,  Pennsylvania,  till  his  death  in  April,  1880.  This  broke 
up  the  Presbytery  of  St,  Lawrence,  and  Mr.  Harper  and  his 
(?harge  were  transferred  to  the  Presbytery  of  Albany.  The  con- 
gregations in  Canada  East  united  with  the  Associate  Presby- 
teries of  Canada,  because  of  their  distance  and  isolation  from 
our  Church,  and  the  Canada  Churches  around  them  had  grown 
strong  enough  to  help  them. 

Ou  the  26tli  of  June,  1860,  William  R.  McKee  accepted  a 
call  to  West  Hebron,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
4th  of  the  following  September,  and  remained  till  the  3d  of 
September,  1867.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1861,  Isaac  N.  White, 
acce}ited  a  call  to  Hebron,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on 
the  17th  of  the  following  May,  and  remained  till  the  lOtli  of 
November,  1863.  Mr.  Dunn  resigned  the  pastorate  of  East 
Greenwich  on  the  24th  of  September,  1861,  and  died  during  the 
succeeding  winter.  On  the  24th  of  September,  1861,  Thomas 
H.  Hanna  declined  a  call  from  South  Argyle.  On  the  25th  of 
February,  1862,  a  call  was  sustained  from  Putnam  to  j\lr. 
Thomas  Lawrence,  which  he  accepted  and  was  there  ordained 
and  installed  on  the  8th  of  the  next  September,  and  resigned 
on  the  18th  of  June,  1867.  On  May  the  6th,  1862,  a  call  was 
sustained  from  South  Argyle  to  the  Rev.  W.  Bruce,  of  Palti- 
moi'e,  which  was  declined.    Mr.  Seouller  resigned  the  charge  of 


so  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Argyle  congregation,  the  dissolution  to  take  phice,  April  1, 
1862. 

On  May  1st,  1860,  Joseph  Thyne,  student  of  theology,  was 
transferred  to  the  Presbytery  of  Miami.  William  James  Reid 
was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  April  2d,  1861.  On  the  17th 
of  May,  William  N.  Randies,  George  M.  Wiley,  David  M.  Mc- 
Clellan,  Morrison  S.  Telford  and  George  M.  Robinson  were  re- 
ceived as  students  of  theology  ;  as  were  also  Andrew  F.  Ashton 
on  May  Gth,  and  John  R.  Fisher  on  July  9th,  1862.  Mr.  Tel- 
ford was  transferred,  September  7,  1862,  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Oonemaugh,  and  Mr.  Ashton  on  the  5th  of  May,  1863,  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Xenia.  William  :N".  Randies,  James  H.  Robin- 
son and  George  M.  Wiley,  were  licensed  on  the  6th  of  May, 
1862.  D.  M.  McClellan  was  licensed,  April  12th,  1864,  and 
J.  R.  Fisher,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1865. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  1862,  two  calls  were  sustained  for  David 
M.  lire,  one  w\as  from  Argyle  and  the  other  was  from  East 
Greenwich.  He  accepted  the  former,and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  8th  of  the  subsequent  October.  An  incident  took 
place  at  this  ordination  which  deserves  notice  because  of  a 
principle  which  lay  back  of  it.  The  member  that  presided  laid 
his  hand  upon  the  head  of  Mr.  lire  at  the  beginning  of  his 
prayer,  and  the  other  ministers  stood  around  waiting  to  lay 
their  hands  on,  when  it  would  be  mentioned  in  the  prayer,  that 
they  now  ordained  the  kneeling  brother  by  the  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  the  Presbytery.  But  such  a  passage  did  not  occur 
and  the  i)rayer  ended  w^ithout  any  hand  except  that  of  the  leader 
upon  the  head  of  Mr.  lire.  On  the  next  morning  the  followino: 
paper  was  received,  signed  by  all  the  elders  of  the  congregation. 

"  To  the  Presbytery  of  Argyle,  to  meet  in  Argyle  on  the  8th 
day  of  October,  1862.  The  session  of  Argyle  would  respect- 
fully sul)mit  the  following  inquiry  : 

"That  whereas  the  Word  of  God  explicitly  requires  that  the 
ordination  of  ministers  shall  bo  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
of  the  Presbytery. 

"  And  whereas  in  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Ure  that  important 
part  was  omitted.  Does  that  omission  in  any  way  invalidate 
his  ordination  ?" 


I'llKSBVTEKY    OF    AUOYLE,  91 

After  considerable  discussion  the  Tresbytery  concludoil  that 
it  would  be  safest  to  act  regularly,  and  "to  proceed  to  the  ordi- 
nation of  Mr.  Ure  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presby- 
tery." After  the  delivery  of  the  missionary  sermon  that  even- 
ino!;,  the  Synod  being  in  session,  Mr,  Ure  was  ordained  by  the 
laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  l*resbytery,  and  installed  pastor 
of  the  Argyle  congregation. 

In  the  midst  of  the  Rebellion,  and  when  the  prospects  of  our 
(•i)untry  were  most  gloomy  and  discouraging,  the  I'resbytery  at 
its  meeting  on  the  5tli  of  May,  1863,  made  the  state  of  the 
country  a  matter  of  special  consideration,  and  after  careful  and 
prayerful  deliberation,  passed  the  following  resolutions  : 

1st.  That  we  do  hereby  assert  our  devote! ,  unfaltering  and 
loyal  attachment  to  the  government  in  its  present  struggles  for 
maintaining  the  "ordinance  of  God"  in  its  supremac}'. 

2d.  That  as  a  Presbytery  we  do  hereby  otter  our  services,  if 
required,  as  ministers  of  the  gospel  to  aid  in  administering 
spiritual  consolation  and  encouragement  to  our  soldiers,  and 
especially  to  the  sick,  the  wounded  and  the  dying. 

3d.  That  we  shall  ever  pray  for  the  complete  and  final  suc- 
■cess  of  the  government,  and  shall  endeavor  to  aid  and  support 
it  by  all  legitimate  means  within  our  power. 

At  another  meeting  on  the  loth  of  October,  it  was  resohcil 
t()  send  four  of  its  ministers  to  labor  six  weeks  each  in  the 
iirmy  under  the  direction  of  the  Christian  Commission. 
Messrs.  McKee,  Lawrence,  Ure,  and  Forsythe  were  selected  for 
this  service. 

A  call  was  sustained.  May  5th,  1803,  from  East  Greenwich 
to  Mr.  T.  J.  AVilson,  which  he  declined.  Another  call  from 
East  Greenwich  to  James  M.  Orr  was  sustained  on  the  lOth 
<)f  Xovember.  This  was  accepted  and  Mr.  Orr  was  ordained 
and  installed  on  the  10th  of  March,  1864.  This  pastorate  was 
terminated  on  the  18th  of  April,  1805,  b}-  the  death  of  Mr. 
(Jrr. 

On  tlie  19th  of  July,  18G3,  a  cidl  was  sustained  from  South 
Argyle  to  the  Rev.  Jajiies  11.  Andrew,  which  was  accepted, 
although  he  was  nof  installed  until  the  7th  of  the  next  dune. 
Mr.  Andrew  resigned  on  the  13th  of  .lanuary,  1874. 


92  HISTORY    OF   TIIK 

Oil  tlic  lOtli  of  March,  1864,  a  call  Avas  sustained  IVom 
Hebron  to  Mr.  A,  H.  Anderson,  which  was  declined.  They 
ccave  another  call  on  the  14th  of  November,  1865,  to  Mr.  W.  M. 
Richie,  which  was  also  declined.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1866, 
Mr.  John  H.  Fisher  accepted  a  call  to  Hebron,  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  on  the  14th  of  the  following  June.  On  the  17th 
of  June,  1874,  Mr.  Fisher  resigned  and  passed  to  the  Presb}-- 
terian  Church. 

On  the  2d  of  Januarj-,  1866,  East  Greenwich  gave  a  call  to 
Mr.  W.  M.  Richie,  which  he  declined.  On  the  8th  of  October, 
1867,  they  called  Mr,  A.  G.  King,  who  also  declined.  On  the 
r)th  of  May,  1868,  they  called  Mr.  "W.  R.  Gladstone,  who  ac- 
cepted, and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  8th  of  Se})teinber. 
Because  of  declining  health  he  resigned  on  the  2d  of  January, 
1877,  and  died  on  the  13th  of  February. 

On  the  7th  of  May,  1867,  ]SIr.  Brown  resigned  the  charge  of 
East  Salem,  and  on  the  22d  of  June,  1869,  Mr.  J.  B.  Clapper- 
ton  was  ordained  and  installed  as  his  successor.  lie  resigned 
on  the  8tli  of  February,  1876,  and  was  succeeded  by  R.  J.  Cun- 
ningham, Avho  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  23d  of 
August,  1876,  and  is  still  pastor.  The  Rev.  G.  M.  Wiley  was 
installed  as  pastor  of  the  West  Hebron  congregation  on  the 
7th  of  April,  1868,  and  Samuel  Bigger  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled as  pastor  in  l*utnani,  on  the  29th  of  September,  and 
both  so  remain. 

The  death  of  Dr.  T.  Goodwillie  in  1867,  reduced  the  Vermont 
Presbytery  so  that  it  could  not  meet  for  business,  so  in  obedience 
to  the  direction  of  the  Synod  of  New  York,  the  Presbytery  of 
Argyle,  on  the  28th  of  May,  1868,  assumed  the  care  of  the 
congregations  of  that  Presbytery  for  three  years.  This  super- 
vision was  again  assumed  in  1877,  and  continued  till  the  28d  of 
October,  1878,  when  the  Vermont  Presbytery  was  re-organized. 
During  this  period  the  Rev.  John  Service  was  installed  in  Bar- 
net  in  the  autumn  of  1868,  and  disjoined  on  tlie  8th  of  March, 
1877.  The  Rev.  W.  Bruce  a(?cepted  a  call  to  Ryegate,  and  was 
installed,  October  1st,  1868,  and  resigned  August  10th,  1870. 
The  Rev.  J.  B.  Claiiperton  was  installed  in  Ryegate  on  the  9tli 


I'UKSUYTEKV    OF    AKCVLE.  i^3 

of  Juno,  18TG,  as  pastor,  and  Mr.  A.  S.  Stewart  was  ordaincnl 
and  installed  in  Greensboro',  on  the  2od  of  October,  1878. 

Mr.  Forsythe  resigned  the  cliarge  of  the  Salem  eongre<2;ation 
on  the  14tli  of  Ma}-,  1870,  and  ])assed  to  the  Dutch  Church. 
The  congregation  gave  an  unsuccessful  call  to  Joseph  R.  Wal- 
lace, on  the  7tli  of  February,  1871,  and  a  successful  one  to  the 
Jlev.  W.  A.  Mackenzie,  who  was  installed  on  tlie  14th  of  Xo- 
veniber,  1871. 

Mr.  Ure  resigned  the  charge  of  the  Argyle  congregation, 
February  1st,  1872,  and  was  succededby  Mr.  W.  P.  Kane,  who 
was  ordained  and  installed,  J^oveniber  20th,  1873.  Mr.  Thomas 
Wylie  was  ordained  and  installed  in  the  pastorate  of  Hebron 
on  the  26th  of  January,  1875,  but  his  health  failing  him,  he  re- 
signed on  the  18th  of  September  of  the  following  year,  and 
died  on  the  3d  of  April,  1877.  On  the  26th  of  January,  1875, 
a  call  was  sustained  from  South  Argyle  t(^  ]\[r.  A.  W.  Morris, 
which  he  acce})ted,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  7th 
of  the  following  September.  The  Rev.  G.  T.  Galbraith  was 
installed  as  pastor  in  East  Greenwich,  on  the  27th  of  Juno,  1877. 
The  nel)ron  congregation  gave  an  unsuccessful  call  to  the  Rev. 
M.  S.  McCord  on  the  1st  of  Ma}',  1877,  and  a  successful  one 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1878,  to  the  Rev.  John  Hood,  who  was  in- 
stalled on  the  7th  of  the  following  May.  May  1st,  1866,  George 
M.  Robinson,  student  of  theology,  was  dismissed  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  R.  H.  Hume  was  received  as  a  student  of 
theology,  September  1st,  1874,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  on 
the  4th  of  May,  1875.  Mr.  Willard  McEachron  was  received 
as  a  student  of  theology,  September  2d,  1879. 

The  Rev.  Peter  Campbell,  for  some  time  the  senior  minister 
in  I'resbytery,  was  born  in  Cromie,  Perthshire,  Scotland,  in  Xo- 
veraber,  1784;  was  graduated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow  in 
1814;  studied  theology  in  Edinburgh,  and  was  licensed  August 
3d,  1819,  by  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Glasgow.  In  1820,  he 
cmigi'ated  to  the  United  States,  and  was  ordained  at  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  28tli  of  Se[»tember  of  same  year  l)y  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  ;  labored  as  a  missionary  for  nearly 
three  years  in  Virginia  and  North  and  South  Carolina;  and 
was  installed  a-^  pastor,  February  20,  1823,  in  Florida,  Mont- 


'.34  HISTORY    OF    TIJK 

goiucry  county,  Xew  York.  In  1844,  ho  resigned,  and  spent 
twelve  years  in  missionary  work  and  supplying  the  vacant 
clnu-ches  in  Vermont  and  Canada  East,  after  whicli  he  retired 
from  the  active  duties  of  the  ministry,  and  settled  in  Cambrido-e, 
wljere  he  died  on  the  19tli  of  October,  1866.  He  was  married 
to  Margaret  Law,  daughter  of  John  Law  of  Salem.  He  was 
more  instructive  than  attractive  as  a  preacher,  and  in  private 
life  his  christian  character,  rounded  by  experience  and  mellowed 
by  Divine  Grace,  made  him  a  l)lessing  to  his  friends. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1S71,  the  Rev.  M.  B.  Williams 
joined  the  Presbytery  from  the  Second  Presbytery  of^ew  York, 
and  is  now  its  senior  member.  lie  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Ger- 
shom  Williams,  first  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of 
Cambridge,  and  was  born  in  Cambridge,  July  16,  1797 ;  was 
graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1814;  studied  theology  with 
Drs.  Alexander  McLeod  and  Samuel  B.  Wylie;  was  licensed  by 
the  Northern  Presbytery  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Chnrcli 
in  May,  1818,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor,  by  the 
same  Presbytery,  in  Kortright,  Delaware  county,  Xew  York, 
in  April,  1820,  where  he  long  ministered,  and  has  returned  to 
spend  the  evening  of  his  days  in  the  place  of  his  birth. 

Each  congregation  in  the  Presbytery  is  in  possession  of  a 
good  church  edifice,  and  of  a  comfortable  parsonage.  They 
all  have  efficient  pastors,  and  maintain  prayer  meetings  and 
Sabbath  schools,  and  contribute  their  quota  in  sustaining  the. 
ojierations  of  the  Church.  The  three  congregations  inArfiryle. 
in  addition  to  their  contributions  to  the  Boards,  support  a. 
female  missionary  in  the  foreign  field. 

"Unto  Ilim  that  loved  ns,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in 
His  own  blood,  and  has  made  us  Kings  and  Priests  unto  God 
and  Ilis  Father;  to  Ilim  be  glory  and  doniinion  forever  and 
ever.     Amen." 

United  Presbyterian  Ministers. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  minsters  reared  witliin  the  Pres. 
bytery,  or  educated  under  its  supervision  : 

William  James  Reid,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  South  Argyle ; 
was  educated  at  Union   College  and    Allegheny  Theological 


PRESBYTKRY    (iF    AR  lYLE.  [)o 

.SeminaiT  ;  w;is  licensed  by  the  Ari>-vle  Presbytery,  April  2, 
b^(:)l,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  First  United 
Presbyterian  eongreiijation,  in  IMttsbiirgli,  l*ennsylvania,  Aprili 
7tli,  1862,  by  tlie  Monongabela  J*resbytery,  and  is  still  ini 
(•barge. 

AVilliam  IST.  Handles  was  born  at  West  Hebron,  March  14tli,. 
1837 ;  was  educated  at  Union  College  and  Xenia  Theological 
Seminary  ;  was  licensed  by  the  Argyle  Presbytery,  Mny  Gth^ 
1862  ;  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  of  West  Charlton,. 
May  4, 1864,  by  the  United  i'resbyterian  Presbytery-  of  Albany ; 
resigned  in  1872,  passed  into  the  Dutch  Church,  and  in  1873, 
became  pastor  of  Glenville,  Schenectady  county,  Xew  York. 

James  IT,  Robinson  was  born  in  Argyle  ;  was  educated  at 
l^nion  College  and  Allegheny  Theological  Seminary ;  was 
licensed  by  the  Argyle  Presbytery,  May  6,  1862;  }»assed  to  the- 
l^resbyterian  Church,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor 
of  the  Presl'»yterian  congregation  at  Delhi,  Delaware  county- ,. 
New  York. 

(ieorge  M.  AViley  was  born  in  Putnam;  was  educated  at 
Union  Collese  and  Princeton  Theological  Seminary ;  was- 
licensed  May  6,  1862,  by  the  Argyle  Presbytery  ;  was  ordained 
and  installed  at  Ryegate,  Yermont,  October  10,  1863;  and  was- 
installed  at  West  Hebron,  April  7,  1868. 

Morrison  S.  Telford  was  born  in  Jackson  ;  was  educated  at 
Westminster  College  and  Xenia  Theological  Seminar}' ;  was^ 
licensed  by  the  Conemaugh  Presbytery,  in  April,  1863  ;  was 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  same  Presbytery,  June  16,  1864,. 
as  pastor  of  Jacksonville  and  Crete;  and  is  now  at  Stanton,. 
Peimsylvania. 

])avid  M.  McClehan  was  born  in  Hebron;  was  educated  at 
Jefferson  College  an.d  Xenia  Theological  Seminary ;.  was- 
licensed  April  12,  1864,  b^'  the  Argyle  Presbytery;  and  wa^^ 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  Conemaugh  I*resbytery„Sei)tem- 
ber  10,  1867,  at  Centre ;  and  is  now  pastor  in  Kansas  City. 

(nleorge  M.  Rol)inson  was  born  in  Argyle ;  was  graduated  at 
Union  College ;  studied  tbeology  one  year  in  the  Allegheny 
Seminary;  then  entered  the  army,  and  after  the  Rebellion,, 
transferred   bis  connection   to   the  Presbyterian  Church,   and 


m 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Hiiislied  his  studies  at  J'rinccton  ;  received  licensure  and  ordi- 
nation in  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  was  pastor  in  Lancaster 
and  Duncannon,  rennsjlvania,  and  is  now  chaplain  in  the 
United  States  army. 

Andrew  F.  Ashton  was  born  in  White  Creek  ;  was  educated 
at  Westminster  College  and  Xenia  Seminary ;  was  licensed 
March  29th,  18G4,  by  the  Xenia  L'resbytery  ;  was  ordained 
October  18,  1866,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Michigan ;  was  first 
.settled  at  Cabin  Hill,  X.  Y.,  and  is  now  pastor  of  Mount  I'lea- 
riant,  Ohio. 

John  P.  Fisher  was  born  in  Cand)ridge ;  was  educated  at 
Williams  College  and  Princeton  Seminary  ;  was  licensed  May 
2,  1865,  by  the  Argyle  Pj-esbytery ;  was  ordained  and  installed 
in  Hebron,  June  14,  1866  ;  resigned  June  17,  1874;  joined  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  is  pastor  in  Jersey  Cit}'. 

11.  II.  Hume  w\as  born  in  Otsego  county,  X.  Y. ;  was  educated 
at  Union  College  and  Xewburgh  Seminary;  was  licensed  Ma>' 
4,  1875,  by  Argyle  Presbytery,  and  was  ordained  and  installed 
September  13,  1876,  as  pastor  in  Sterling  Valley,  l)y  the  Cale- 
<lonia  Presbytery. 

Willard  McEachron  was  born  in  Hebron  ;  was  graduated  at 
Princeton  College,  and  is  now  in  tlie  I'rinceton  Theological 
^Seminary. 

Thomas  W.  Anderson  was  born  near  West  lIel)ron,  December 
27,  1855;  was  graduated  at  Monmouth  College,  and  studied 
theology  at  Allegheny  Seminary;  was  licensed  by  the  Allegheny 
Presbytery  in  June,  1879,  and  now  awaits  ordination  as  pastor  in 
Paltimore,  Maryland. 

Alexander  Gilchrist  w^as  born  in  West  Hebron,  March  25,. 
1856;  spent  two  years  in  Monmouth  College,  and  finished  his 
course  at  Wooster  University,  and  is  now  studying  theology  in 
the  Allegheny  Seminary. 


I'RESI'.VTl'RV    OI'    ARiiYLE. 


97 


CllAl'TER  v. 
ski:t('hi:s  or  the  pkksi:nt  congregations  of 

AKGVLE  PKESBYTEKY. 

Saloiij. 

HE  United  Prcshyteriau  (.'ongregatiou  in  Salem,  Wash- 
ington county,  jSTew  York,  was  organized  on  the  23d 
m  of  fluly,  1751,  in  Irehind,  and  came  to  this  country  as 
an  ecclesiastical  colony,  including  pastor,  ruling  elders,  and 
communicants.  J)uring  the  tirst  half  of  the  last  century, 
nearly  all  the  ministers  in  the  Synod  of  Ulster,  in  Ireland,  were 
educated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  in  Scotland,  and  a 
goodly  number  of  them  imbibed  the  Sociniau  views  of  J'ro- 
fessor  Simsou.  The  result  was  the  formation  of  a  "  New  Light '' 
party  in  the  Synod,  and  their  influence  was  decidedly  imevan- 
gelical.  (^)uite  a  numl)er  of  the  congregations  that  had  "Xew 
Jjight ""  i^stors  became  greatly  distracted,  and  a>  S!)on  as  the 
Secession  C'hurch  became  a  iixed  fact  in  Scotland,  the  evangel- 
ical i)ortion  of  some  of  these  churches  seceded,  and  sent  to 
Scotland  for  ministers.  A  Mr.  Jackson  was  pastor  of  the 
I'resbyterian  congregation,  in  Ballibay,  in  the  county  of  ^fon- 
aghan,  and  as  his  views  were  decidedly  unevangelioal,  a  large 
part  of  his  people  left  him  and  sent  to  the  Burgher  l*resbytery 
of  Glasgow.  Thomas  Clark  was  licensed  in  April,  1748,  and 
innnediately  sent  to  preach  in  Ballibay,  and  wherever  else  he 
could  do  good,  lie  met  with  great  opposition  and  with  great 
>»uccess,  and  on  the  23d  of  duly,  1751,  the  Presbytery  of  Glas- 
gow organized  a  Burgher  Church,  and  ordained  and  installed 
Mr.  Clark  as  its  pastor.  Here  he  labored  amid  many  trials  and 
persecutions  till  17(!4,  when  he  resolved  to  A-jsit  America,  to 
which  several  of  his  families  had  already  gone.  I'resijytery 
granted  him  leave  of  absence  for  a  j'ear,  without  disturbing 
his  pastoral  relation.  A  large  i>ortit)n,  possibly  a  majority  of 
his  congregation,  concluded  to  go  with  him,  so  on  the  10th  of 


98  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Ma^-,  1764,  they  sailed  from  Ne\viy,and  lauded  in  Xew  York, 
oil  the  28th  of  July.  Here  they  divided,  aud  a  small  portiou 
of  theui  went  to  Abbeville  county,  South  Carolina,  where  some 
friends  had  previously  gone.  The  principal  part  of  the  con- 
gregation went  up  the  Hudson  river  to  examine  a  tract  of 
forty  thousand  acres  of  land  around  the  head  of  Lake  George, 
which  had  been  offered  them.  The  land  did  not  meet  their  ex- 
pectations, so  they  declined  it  and  wintered  at  Stillwater. 
During  the  next  year,  Dr.  Clark,  who  was  emphatically  the 
Moses  of  this  exodus,  purcliased  a  tract  of  land  in  New  Perth 
or  Salem,  as  already  related,  and  in  1766  and  '7,  succeeded 
in  getting  all  the  colony  comfortably  located.  During  all  this 
transition  period  their  ecclesiastical  organization  was  not  dis- 
turbed in  the  slightest  degree.  Preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
the  administration  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  regu- 
larly observed,  wliethor  on  the  land  or  on  the  sea.  The  iirst 
death  in  this  country  was  that  of  James  llarshaw,  one  of  their 
ruling  elders,  and  it  occurred  while  they  sojourned  at  Still- 
water. 

The  congregation  as  thus  planted  in  Salem,  consisted  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Clark,  M.  D.,  pastor;  George  Oswald,  David  Tomb, 
"William  Thompson,  "William  Moncrieff,  William  Wilson, 
Richard  lloy,  John  Foster  and  David  Hanna,  ruling  elders  and 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  communicants.  In  1766  they  buil.'- 
of  logs  a  storehouse  to  be  used  afterward  as  a  jjarsonage,  a  schoid 
house,  and  a  church  Ibrty  feet  lo)ig.  This  was  the  first  meet 
ing  house  built  north  of  Albany  in  Isew  York,  by  an}-  denomi- 
nation of  Christians.  It  was  rude  and  comfortless  with  a  bark 
roof  and  no  floor,  so  in  1770,  they  replaced  it  by  a  more  com- 
modious frame  one,  which  stillcxists,  although  turned  to  a  diff- 
erent use.  This  house  soon  became  too  small,  and  in  1797,  one 
still  larger  and  more  convenient  was  erected  at  an  expense  of 
$4,000.  This  building  has  been  enlarged  and  refitted  two  or 
three  times  and  still  serves  the  congregation. 

After  nearly  a  score  of  years  a  difficulty  sprung  up  between 
Dr.  Clark  and  some  of  his  families.  As  previously  stated  there 
Avas  after  the  first  five  years  an  annual  rent  of  one  shilling  per 
acre  to  be  paid  to  the  original  proprietors.     For  this  they  held 


PRESBYTERY    OF    .AR(iiYLK.  99 

Dr.  Clark  [lersonally  res{)Oiisil)le,  and  rcMjuired  pr()iii|)t  payineuts. 
This  made  it  necessary  for  liim  to  exact  punctual  payments  from 
the  possessors  of  the  land,  and  as  some  of  them  were  slow  and 
careless  they  hecame  wearied  of  his  importunity,  and  turned 
against  him.  To  be  tax  gatherer  under  such  circumstances 
became  distasteful  and  disagreeable  to  the  Doctor,  and  in  the 
spring  of  17S2  he  resigned  his  pastoral  cliarge.  The  congrega- 
tion with  hut  two  dissenting  votes  refused  to  accept  his  resig- 
nation, lie  insisted  and  went  south  on  a  visit  of  a  year  to  the 
jiortion  of  his  Irish  charge  which  Located  there.  lie  returned 
and  missionated,  with  Albanj-  for  his  headquarters,  till  17S6, 
wlien  he  returned  to  South  Carolina  and  became  piastor  of  Ce- 
dar Spring  and  Long  Cane,  and  died  suddenly  on  the  25th  of 
December,  1792,  and  was  buried  in  the  Cedar  Spring  grave 
yard. 

Thomas  Clark, M.  D.,  was  born  in  Scotland  about  1722  or  '3,aDd 
was  educated  at  tlie  University  of  Glasgow,  where  he  also  took 
the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine  ;  studied  theology  in  the  Asso- 
ciate Hall  ;  finishing  after  the  schism  of  1747,  with  Ebenezer 
Erskine.  lie  was  a  man  of  blunt  manners  and  of  great  cccen. 
tricities  of  character,  of  whom  many  anecdotes  have  been  pre- 
served. But  he  was  wholly  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
and  in  active  labors  he  was  exceedingly  abundant.  Wherever 
lie  went  and  in  whatever  he^was  engaged,  he  preached  Christ, 
and  the  Lord  greatly  blessed  his  labors. 

In  the  sunmier  of  1783,  this  church  gave  a  call  to  the  Rev. 
James  Proudfit,  of  Pequea,  Pennsylvania,  who  accepted  and 
took  charge  of  the  congregation  in  October,  although  his  instal- 
lation did  not  take  place  for  years,  jtossiblv  he  was  never  in- 
stalled. The  following  extracts  froin  the  minutes  of  the  I'res- 
bytery  of  Xew  York  tell  all  that  is  now  known  upon  this  point. 
May  22,  1788,  "Salem  ]>etitions  for  a  meeting  of  Presbj^tery 
there  to  install  Mr.  Proudfit."  September  29,  1788,  a  letter 
Avas  received  from  Salem  "craving  the  installment  of  Mr.  Proud- 
fit.'' Octolier  13,  1789,  a  jietition  from  Salem  "praying  for  the 
admission  of  the  Rev.  James  Proudfit  to  the  pastoral  relation  of 
said  congregation,  and  the  appropriation  of  his  stated  ministry 
to  it."     May  3,  1791,  "Mr.  W.  Thompson  insisted  on  the  re- 


100  HISTORY    OF    THE 

iiewul  of  the  uii[)Oiiitineiit  of  the  Rev.  James  Proudfit's  install- 
lueiit  ot  the  "First  rresb^'terian  C'hiirch  ot"  Salem."  May  7, 
1791,  "the  instalhnent  of  Mr.  Proudlit  at  Salem  was  postponed 
till  next  meeting,  with  notilieation  to  Salem  people  that  if  the 
arrears  of  his  salary  are  not  then  paid  there  shall  be  no  install- 
ment." 

The  meeting  house  of  the  New  England  congregation  was 
Ijurnt  by  the  Tories  in  1777,  and  not  rebuilt  for  some  ten  years- 
During  all  this  time  the  congregation  worshipped  statedly  with 
Dr.  Clark  and  Mr.  Proudiit.  In  1795,  Alexander  Proudfit  was 
settled  as  the  colleague  and  successor  of  his  fatlier.  In  1797, 
the  elder  Proudfit  was  stricken  witli  [)aralysis  while  preaching, 
and  was  never  afterward  able  to  conduct  a  wliole  service  in  the 
clnirch. 

James  Proudlit  was  born  near  Perth,  in  Scotland,  in  the  year 
1732;  was  licensed  by  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Perth  in  1753, 
and  was  ordained  in  July,  175-4,  to  take  Mr.  Arnot's  place  in 
the  American  mission,  where  he  arrived  in  the  following  Sep- 
tember. In  1758  he  was  installed  in  l*equea,  Lancaster  county, 
TVnnsylvania,  and  transferred  to  Salem,  N'ew  York,  in  1783, 
and  there  died  on  the  22d  of  October,  1802.  lie  was  over  six 
feet  in  height  and  well  ]>roportioned  and  very  grave  and  solemn 
in  manner.  "Ilis  preaching  w^as  not  what  would  commonly  be 
called  popular,  but  it  was  sensible,  well  considered  and  highly- 
instructive."  His  voice  was  distinct,  but  rather  feel)le  and  his 
gestures  were  neither  many  nor  forcible,  lie  was  called  by  his 
ministerial  l)rethren  "their  walking  concordance,"  because  his 
iamiliarity  with  the  Scriptures  was  so  great  that  he  could  quote 
almost  any  passage  and  give  the  chapter  and  verse.  "As  a  i)as- 
tor  he  was  a  model  of  prudence,  fidelity  and  affection."  In 
labors  he  was  very  abundant. 

Dr.  Alexander  Proudfit  was  pastor  for  forty  years,  from  the 
13th  of  May,  1795,  to  the  8th  of  October,  1835."^  During  this 
period  the  congregation  fluctuated  greatly  in  numbers,  for  it 
was  several  times  considerably  reduced  by  emigration  west- 
ward, and  then  suddenly  increased  by  revivals.  In  179(),  and 
in  1802,  and  in  1813  it  experienced  very  umisual  out-pourings 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  its  most  wonderful  visitation  was  in 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYI.E.  101 

1824,  when  one  liuudred  and  twenty-live  were  added  to  its 
membership.  During  Dr.  Proudfit's  entire  pastonito  the  reli- 
gions life  and  activity  of  the  congregation  were  nniformly  good. 
It  is  ])ut  just  to  say  that  the  activit}',  the  wisdom  and  the  fi- 
delity of  an  extraordinary  session  had  mnch  to  do  with  all  this. 

The  congregation  parted  with  the  Doctor  with  great  reluc- 
tance, but  as  he  grew  okler  he  became  more  and  more  absorbed 
in  the  religions  activities  of  the  day,  and  felt  that  in  his  de- 
clining 3'ears  he  could  be  more  nseful  there  than  in  the  pastor- 
ate. In  1800,  he  formed  in  his  own  chnrch  '' The  female  so- 
ciety in  Salem  for  promoting  religious  knowledge."'  He  wrote 
many  of  the  tracts,  had  them  published  in  the  village,  and  dis- 
tributed wherever  they  promised  to  do  good.  This  was  most 
jirobably  the  first  tract  society  in  tlie  United  States.  The 
American  Bible  Society,  the  American  Tract  Society,  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  the  Education  Societj-, 
the  Colonization  Society,  and  every  other  organized  beneficence 
found  in  him  an  earnest  and  constant  friend.  He  gave  special 
attention  to  tlie  young,  and  songht  to  benefit  them  in  every 
way.  When  he  left  Salem  he  became  Secretary  of  the  Coloni- 
zation Society,  and  served  it  with  great  industry  till  1842,  when 
the  infirmities  of  age  compelled  him  to  retire,  lie  died  on  the 
17th  of  April,  1843^ 

Dr.  Proudfit  was  of  medium  height,  and  rather  slender  in 
person,  of  grave  and  thoughtful  countertance.  His  voice  was 
clear  but  not  very  loud,  his  delivery  was  tender  and  earnest, 
but  not  s}>ecially  animated.  Dr.  Gosman,  a  jtupil  and  life-long 
friend,  says  that  "  his  discourses  combined  the  doctrinal  and 
jiractical  in  very  happy  proportions;  and  although  they  were 
elevated  in  tlieir  tone  and  spirit,  they  were  so  plain  and  simple 
that  j)ersons  of  liumble  capacities  and  little  culture  could  easily 
understand  them."  lie  was  unquestionably  a  man  of  fine 
mind  and  of  large  attainments,  but  he  never  made  a  special 
show  of  them  ;  his  marked  characteristics  were  consistent  piety 
and  benevolent  activity. 

The  liev.  James  Lillie,  D.  I).,  late  of  Scotland,  then  pastor 
of  the  Associate  Reformed  congregation  of  Franklin  street, 
Xew  York,  was  installed  as  Dr.  Poudfit's  successor  on  the  12th 


102  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  February,  1886.  He  reiuaiifed  howe\-er  only  till  the  26tli 
ot"  June,  18o7,  when  he  re.siu;ne(l  and  took  charge  of  tlie  Dutch 
church  in  Rhinebeck.  Dr.  Lillie  was  •'  a  man  of  noble  presence, 
a.  grand,  though  an  unef[ual  preacher,  and  a  scholar  of  ripe 
and  varied  culture,  theological,  literary,  and  scientific."  He 
was  too  restless  tf)  be  successful.  He  was  l>orn  in  Kelso,  Scot- 
land ;  was  educated  at  Edinburgh  University;  studied  theoloiry 
with  Drs.  Law^son  and  Dick;  was  ordained  in  1829,  over  a 
churcli  in  Montrose ;  was  pastor  of  Franklin  street  for  six 
months.  He  remained  in  Rhinebeck  only  two  or  three  years  ; 
then  less  than  two  years  in  Clove,  Ulster  countj' ;  was  about 
the  same  length  of  time  pastor  of  the  Second  I'resb^'terian 
Church  in  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania;  a  little  while  pastor  of  a 
Presbyterian  church  in  Xew  Jersey.  He  next  became  a  Ba})- 
tist,  and  was  a  professor  in  a  college  in  Wisconsin,  and  then 
in  a  theological  seminary  in  Toronto,  lie  went  to  London, 
studied  medicine  and  commenced  to  practice:  made  a  visit  to 
the  United  States,  and  died  in  1875,  in  Kansas. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1838,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev. 
]Malcolm  [^T.  McLaren  of  Hamptonburg,  which  he  declined 
Another  call  was  given  to  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Halley,  just  ar- 
rived from  Scotland.  This  he  accepted  and  w^as  installed  on  the 
3d  of  Septemljer,  1838.  He  remained  till  :\lay  30th,  1848,  when 
he  resigned  and  took  charge  of  the  Second  Street  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Troy,  where  he  remained  seven  years,  and  then  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  in  Albany,  wdiich 
he  served  for  twenty  years,  and  w^as  then  retired  on  a  i)ension. 
He  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1801;  was  graduated  at  the  Edin- 
burgh University;  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Dick;  was  licensed 
April  5th,  1825;  was  three  years  pastor  in  tlie  city  of  St.  An- 
drews, and  ten  years  in  the  city  of  Leith.  Dr.  Halley  is  a  uian 
of  rather  short  but  heavy  build,  is  an  earnest,  fluent,  enthusi- 
astic and  attractive  preacher.  The  congregation  Avas  reason- 
ably prosperous  during  his  pastorate. 

On  the  19th  of  December,  1848,  the  congregation  gave  a  call 
to  the  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Carver,  just  from  England,  which  he 
declined.  On  the  5th  of  July,  1849,  a  call  was  given  to  the 
Rev.  J.  D,  Robinson,  who  came  from  England  with  Mr.  Carver, 


PKTvSBYTEllY    OF    AIUJYLE.  103 

ami  it  was  also  declined.  On  tlic  25tli  of  Fcljruary,  1850,  a  call 
was  given  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  T.  Farrinii:ton  of  GcMieva,  which 
he  accepted,  and  was  installed  on  tln'  1  Itli  of  the  following  Jnne. 
He  remained  till  the  4th  of  Augnst,  1S57,  when  he  resigned 
to  hecome  jjastor  of  the  church  in  Oxbow.  Mi\  Farrington 
was  horn  in  1821,  in  Newburgh,  Xew  York;  was  graduated  at 
Union  College  ;  spent  two  years  before  the  mist  in  a  whaling 
voyage  in  the  i'acitic  ocaan,  on  account  of  liis  health  ;  studie  I 
theology  in  the  Seminar}' in  Xewburgh;  was  licensed  by  the 
Xew  York  Tresbytery  on  the  ->d  Tuesday  of  May,  1845  ;  was 
ordained  pastor  in  Geneva,  August  12tli,  184(3.  lie  declined 
going  into  the  union  of  1858,  remained  in  Oxbow  till  after  the 
<leath  of  Dr.  McCarrell,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  First 
Church  in  Xewburgh  ;  and  died  suddenly,  while  walking  in  his 
garden,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1875.  Mr.  Farrington  was  a  man 
of  full  medium  height,  and  strongly  built,  had  a  clear  voice, 
l)ut  keyed  a  little  too  high,  lie  was  a  profound  theologian,  an 
earnest  and  instructive  preacher,  and  taught  the  vloctrines  of 
the  gospel  with  great  fuUnesss  and  clearness.  He  had  strong- 
convictions  and  was  immovable  in  his  adherence  to  what  he 
believed  to  be  right.  The  congregation  during  his  incumbency 
suft'ered  ver}-  much  from  emigration,  so  that  the  membership) 
ran  down  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-four. 

The  Rev.  James  C.  Forsythe,  of  Cadiz,  Ohio,  was  called  on 
the  5th  of  April,  1858,  and  was  installed  on  the  29th  of  the 
following  June.  He  remained  till  the  14th  of  May,  1870,  when 
lie  resigned  and  entered  the  Dutch  Church.  Mr.  Forsythe  was 
born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania ;  was  graduated  at 
"Washino-ton  Colleo;e  and  studied  theoloo-y  at  AUeghenv  ;  was 
licensed  l)y  the  Blairsville  Presbytery  in  April  of  1851,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed  by  the  Steubenville  Presbyter}-,  on  the 
27th  of  October,  1852,  as  pastor  of  Cadiz,  Ohio.  After  remain- 
ing in  the  Dutch  Church  for  a  few  years,  he  became  pastor  C)f 
the  Presbyterian  church  at  Montgomery  in  Orange  county,  Xew 
York.  The  congregation  prospered  during  Mr.  Forsythe's  pas- 
torate. One  hundred  and  ninety-two  were  added  to  its  mem- 
bershij);  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  of  these  were  l)y  profes- 
sion, and   forty-two    l)y   adult   baptism.     In  1868,  they  were 


104 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


visited  with  a  special  out-pouriiii,^  oH  the  Spirit,  when  relio:i()us 
interest  continued  for  two  months  and  many  were  added  to  tlie 
clmrch. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1871,  a  call  was  given  to  Josej.h  II. 
Wallace,  now  of  Jamestown,  I'einisylvania,  which  was  declined. 
On  the  12th  of  the  following  Septeml)er  another  call  was  given 
to  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Mackenzie,  of  Sewickley,  Pennsylvania.  This 
call  was  accepted,  and  followed  by  installation  on  the  14th  of 
November.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  reared  in  Oliio;  was  educated 
at  Franklin  College  and  the  Allegheny  Theological  Seminary  ; 
was  licensed  by  the  Steubenville  Presbytery  in  1S64  ;  was  or 
dained  and  installed  April  4, 1865,  by  the  Allegheny  Presbyterv, 
as  pastor  of  the  congregation  in  Sewickley,  Pennsylvania. 
Thus  far  his  ministry  in  Salem  has  l)cen  owned  and  blessed  of 

G:)d. 

The  congregation  was  incorporated  in  1784,  when  the  lirst 
board  of  trustees  was  elected.  The  three  lots  or  farms  given 
by  the  original  patentees  for  church  and  school  purposes  were 
long  since  sold,  and  the  proceeds  otherwise  invested,  so  that  in 
addition  to  their  church  ground  and  parsonage  property,  they 
have  an  aimual  income  of  between  three  and  four  hundred 
dollars. 

During  Dr.  Ilalley's  incumbency  a  congregational  Sabbath 
School  was  instituted,  with  Dr.  Asa  Fitch  and  Mrs.  Maria 
l*roudiit  for  superintendents.  It  has  always  done  well,  and 
last  year  reported  twenty-seven  teachers  and  two  hundred  and 
seventy-two  scholars.  IVayer  meetings  have  always  been,  and 
the  religious  life  of  the  congregation  has  been  generally  good. 

The  following  men  have  served  as  ruling  elders  in  this 
church  since  its. transfer  to  Salem:  Those  coming  with  Dr. 
Clark  have  already  been  mentioned.  ])uring  Dr.  Clark's  pas- 
torate, Robert  McMurray,  James  Stevenson,  John  Rowan, 
Williams  Matthews,  John  Ilarsha,  and  William  McFarland, 
were  added.  In  1797,  Avere  installed  Matthew  McWhorter, 
John  Steele,  Thomas  Collins,  and  Walter  Stewart.  In  1809, 
Abraham  Savage,  Richard  Hoy,  George  Arnott,  Isaac  Getty, 
and  Thomas  Stevenson.  In  1819,  Andrew  Martin,  John  :Me- 
Murray,  John  Beatty.     In  18:^1,  George  McWhorter,  James  B. 


I'KESBYTEllY    OF    AlKiYLK.  1  C) 

Stevenson,  ])avid  B.  Thompson.  In  1840,  Tra  Curswell,  Joseiih 
Clark,  Hugh  Thompson,  and  Jolm  McMiHan.  In  185G,  Wil- 
liam C.  iSattbrd,  Earl  V.  Wri.o;ht,  and  AVilliani  Edgar.  In  187(3, 
William  Chamberlain,  and  Kol)ert  Stewart. 

Caiiibrulg'e. 

'J'Ik'  earl}'  history  of  the  Cambridge  congregation  shows 
three  distinct  religions  elements,  which  corresponded  with  the 
ditierent  sources  of  its  inhabitants.  The  first  settlers  were 
Frish  who  had  tarried  for  a  time  in  Connecticut.  These  had 
been  reared  under  the  influence  of  the  Synod  of  Ulster,  and 
their  l*resbyterianism  was  never  very  rigid,  and  had  not  l)een 
strengthened  by  their  ivsidence  among  the  I'uritans.  A  second 
l)art  of  these  early  settlers  were  of  Js^ew  England  and  Puritan 
birth,  and  their  ecclesiastical  preferences  were  with  Congrega- 
tionalism, or  a  greatly  modified  l*resbyterianism.  The  remain- 
der of  these  pioneers  were  Irish  immigrants  of  pronounced 
Presbyterianism,  whose  sympathies  were  with  the  Burglier 
wing  of  the  Secession  Church.  All  these  parties  were  agreed 
upon  the  doctrines  of  faith,  so  that  in  their  feebleness  and  re- 
ligious destitution  they  very  readily  consented  to  work  together 
as  a  cono-rea-ation,  notwithstandinf!;  the  difference  in  their  views 
on  church  government. 

In  church  matters  the  Burghers  took  the  lead,  and  in  17<35, 
memorialized  the  Burgher  Synod  of  Scotland  to  send  them  a 
minister.  On  the  12th  of  November,  the  Synod  appointed  the 
Kev.  David  Telfair,  and  Samuel  Ivinlock,  probationer,  to  goto 
America  for  two  years,  and  look  after  the  BurgVier  congrega- 
tion in  Shippen  street,  Phila<lelpliia,  and  the  ]ietitioners  in 
Caml)ridge.  They  arrived  in  the  early  part  of  17(30,  and  con- 
cluding to  remain  permanently,  and  wishing  to  avoid  trans- 
planting Scottish  schiems  to  American  soil,  followed  the  ex- 
ami»le  of  Dr.  Clark,  and  united  in  June,  17G7,  with  the  Asso- 
ciate Presb^'tery  of  I'ennsylvania,  whicli  was  subordinate  to 
the  Antiburgher  S^-nod  of  Scotland.  Both  these  men  preached 
in  Cambridge,  although  Mr.  Kinlock  had  it  more  specially 
under  his  care,  and  gave  to  it  a  large  part  of  his  time.  In  1761>, 
he  changed  his  miiul,  and  returned  to  Scotland,  and  settled  at 


106  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Taisley,  where  lie  minifitered  for  man}' years.  After  his  depar- 
ture the  congregation  looked  to  the  Presbytery  of  reiinsylva- 
uia  for  supervision  and  supply.  So  by  the  direction  of  that 
Ti-esbytery,  Dr.  Clark,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1769,  formally 
organized  a  congregation,  and  ordained  and  installed  ruling- 
elders.  The  names  of  these  elders  are  nowhere  recorded,  and 
oven  tradition  does  not  undertake  to  give  them. 

The  congregation  was  now  organized,  and  sufficiently  strong 
to  support  a  pastor,  and  was  anxious  to  do  so,  and  had  pressed 
Mr.  Kinlock  to  remain  ;  bnt  where  were  they  to  look  for  a 
supply  of  preaching?  Dr.  Mason  in  New  York,  Dr.  Annan  in 
Orange  county,  and  Dr.  Clark  in  Salem,  were  the  only  Asso- 
ciate ministers  in  the  Province.  The  Presbytery  had  neither 
probationer  nor  unsettled  minister  under  its  care.  Proudtit, 
Henderson,  and  Marshall,  the  only  other  ministers  of  the  Ijody 
were  located  in  Pennsylvania.  An  occasional  sermon  from 
Clark  and  Annan  was  all  Cambridge  could  expect,  and  this 
was  far  from  satisfying  them.  Under  these  circumstances  tlie 
congregation  felt  free  to  look  elsewhere  for  supply,  and  for  the 
next  twenty  years  a  large  part  of  the  preaching  was  by  Presby- 
terian ministers.  There  was  nothing  strange  in  this,  for  Pres- 
l)yterian  ministers  were  numerous  enough  to  give  tliem  occa- 
sional supplies  ;  and  their  doctrines  and  forms  of  worship  were 
precisely  the  same ;  and  the  composition  of  the  congregation 
was  such  as  to  render  it  to  a  large  degree  undenominational. 
AV'hile  the  congregation  thus  provided  for  itself  as  best  it 
could,  still  its  ecclesiastical  relation  i-emained  with  the  Asso- 
ciate Church. 

The  Associate  Presbytery  of  Xew  York  held  a  pro  rc-iuda 
meeting  in  "Mr.  Ilutchin's  house"  in  Philadelphia  on  the  29th 
of  October,  1782,  the  very  day  before  the  organization  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church,  and  "Resolved,  that  this  Presby- 
tery meet  in  convention  with  the  Associate  Presbyterj-of  l*enn- 
sylvania  at  Mr.  William  Richard's  to-morrow  morning  at  9  A. 
M.,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  dut}-  incumbent  upon 
us  in  present  circumstances."  At  this  meeting  "a  petition  was 
received  from  sundry  inhabitants  of  C^amltridge  to  be  i-ommn- 
nicated  l)y  the  Presbytery  to  the  convention  as  the  case  may 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(JYLE.  107 

re(iuire;  earnestly  soliciting  to  send  a  minister  to  labor  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry  among  them,  with  a  view  to  their  giving 
him  a  regnlar  call,  shonld  his  qnalitications  be  found  adapted 
to  their  circumstances."  Presbytery  after  some  consideration 
''Resolved  to  present  this  i)etition  to  the  convention,  and  to  do 
whatever  is  in  our  power  for  fnc  relief  of  our  brethren  in  that 
<inarter."'  On  the  next  day,  the  30tli  of  October,  at  "Mr.  Rob- 
inson's house,"  the  Presbytery  hehl  its  last  meeting,  and  the 
last  minute  runs  thus:  "The  Presbytery  at  present  cannor  give 
iuiy  further  sui)ply  to  Cambridge  and  Xew  Perth,  (Dr.  Clark 
liad  left  Salem  the  previous  spring,)  than  was  granted  them  at 
the  last  ordinan/  meeting  ;  but  they  will  use  their  influence  with 
their  brethren  in  this  State,  (Pennsylvania,)  to  send  some  of  their 
members  to  supply  them." 

A  new  arrangement  of  J'resl)yteries  was  now  made,  and  from 
lTS"2tol78<^  Washington  county  was  under  the  care  of  the 
Third  Associate  liefonned  Prcslnjtenj,  and  of  its  minutes  no 
trace  has  yet  been  found ;  but  from  other  sources  we  learn 
something  of  the  doings  of  this  congregation  during  this 
period.  The  abilit}-  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church  to  sup- 
ply this  vacancy  was  less  than  its  predecessor,  for  until  Mr. 
Proudiit  was  settled  in  Salem  there  was  now  no  Associate  Re- 
formed minister  in  the  State,  except  the  elder  Mason  in  Xew 
York  city.  In  178B,  Dr.  Clark  returned  from  the  south,  and 
making  Albany  his  headquarters,  visited  Cambridge  occasion- 
ally, for  two  or  three  3'ears,  until  he  located  tinally  in  South 
Carolina,  with  this  condition  of  aftiiirs  the  congregation  was 
not  satisfied,  and  from  time  to  time  they  drew  their  supplies 
from  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Among  these  was  Mr.  James 
Snodgrass,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery-  of  Philadelphia.  With 
him  they  were  jileased,  and  on  the  7th  of  July,  178(3,  they  made 
out  a  call  for  him,  whicli  was  signed  by  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-four persons.  Whether  these  were  all  males  or  included 
females  is  not  known,  but  the}'  were  most  probably  males. 
They  otlered  Mr.  Snodgrass  a  yearly  salary  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds,  "a  house  thirty  feet  square,  and  one  stor}'  and  one- 
half  liigh,  with  a  cellar  underneath,"'  and  a  settlement  of  two 
hundi'cd    jiounds.      Although    Mr.  Snodgrass  had  given   them 


108  IIISTOIiY    OF    THE 

enc'ouragenieiit,  he  linully  declined  the  call.  This  James  Snod- 
grass  was  born  in  J3ucks  county,  rennsjlvania,  July  23,  1763  ; 
was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  in  December, 
1785,  after  declining  this  call  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  and 
on  the  16tli  of  October,  1787,  received  a  call  from  the  Presby- 
terian congregation  of  Hanover,  a  few  miles  east  of  Ilarris- 
burg,  and  was  there  ordained  and  installed  on  the  13th  of  May, 
1788,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle.  Here  he  remained  as  pas- 
tor till  his  death  which  occurred  on  the  2d  of  -hily,  1846.  lie 
was  the  father  of  the  venerable  W.  1).  kSnoilgrass,  J).  ]),,  of 
Goshen,  New  York. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1787,  they  voted  a  call,  at  a  con- 
gregational meeting,  to  a  Rev.  Mr.  Young  with  a  salary  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  Of  this  Mv.  Young  the  Avriter 
can  find  nothing.  He  was  in  all  probability  a  Presbyterian. 
He  declined  the  call.  On  the  10th  of  September,  1788,  they 
voted  a  call  to  a  Mr.  McCo}',  a  Congregational ist  from  Isew 
England.  Against  this  departure  from  Presbyterian  ism  there 
was  a  strong  protest,  and  the  matter  was  dropped.  There  was 
a  little  Congregationalism  mixed  up  with  these  three  calls,  for 
they  were  simply  voted  by  the  people  without  any  Presb3-te- 
rial  moderator.  In  1789  Thomas  C  Smith,  Samuel  Tomb  and 
John  Dunlap  were  licensed  by  the  Associate  Reformed  Presby- 
tery of  New  York,  and  for  two  years  they  spent  all  their  time 
among  the  vacancies  of  Orange  county  and  of  Washington 
county,  and  those  Avest  cf  Schenectady.  This  was  a  great  ac- 
.quisition,  and  Cambridge  looked  no  more  to  a  foreign  source, 
but  on  the  ]3th  of  October,  1789,  petitioned  its  own  Presby- 
tery for  supply,  and  received  for  about  half  the  time. 

It  has  been  elsewhere  stated  that  a  little  "Society"  of  Cove- 
nanters had  been  early  jJanted  in  the  western  part  of  old  Cam- 
bridge, composed  of  Whitesides,  Selfridges,  McClungs  and 
others.  These  Covenanters  came  into  the  union  of  L782,  and 
became  a  part  of  the  Associate  Reformed  congregation  of  Cam- 
bridge. There  were,  however,  (juite  a  number  of  families  in 
old  Cambridge,  and  in  the  southern  parts  of  Argyle,  Salem  and 
Hebron  which  did  not  approve  of  this  union.  These  w^ere  for 
the  most  part  of  Scottish  origin,  and  Antibiirgher  sympathies. 


I'RESBVTERV    OF    AROYLK.  109 

They  had  been  connected  }»rin('i[ially  with  the  Cambridge  con- 
greg-ation  ;  a  few  of  thein  hud  bch)nged  to  Dr.  Clark's  congre- 
gation in  Salem.  Inimcdiately  after  tlie  termination  of  the 
Revolntionary  war,  these  dissenters  were  joined  by  other  fami- 
lies of  like  faith  directly  from  Scotland,  and  in  1784  they  took 
measnresto  organize  independently  of  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church. 

William  Smith,  one  of  the  original  patentees  of  the  Cam- 
bridge patent  gave  conditional!}-  a  glebe  lot  to  the  congregation, 
situated  a  short  distance  south  of  the  present  village.  Upon 
this  lot  they  began  in  1775  to  build  a  meeting  house,  but  they 
only  got  the  frame  up  and  inclosed  when  the  war  of  Indepen- 
dence broke  out,  and  all  further  work  upon  it  was  stayed  until 
the  war  was  over.  It  was  then  tinished,  and  the  congregation 
on  the  5th  of  January,  1785,  organized  itself  into  a  body  corpo- 
rate, according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Xew  York,  under  the 
name  and  title  of  "The  First  I*rotestant  l*resbyterian  Church 
of  Cambridge."  And  this  is  still  its  civil  title.  The  trustees 
elected  upon  this  occasion  were  Josiah  Dewey,  John  Morrison, 
Edmund  AVells,  Phineas  AVhiteside,  ,[ohn  Yc^unglove,  James 
Ashton,  John  McClung,  John  Welsh  and  Joseph  Wells. 

Tlit^se  who  declined  going  into  the  union  were  organized  in 
1785  into  a  se[»arate  congregation  under  the  title  of  the  ''Asso- 
ciate Congregation  of  Cambridge."  As  this  party  had  con- 
tributed towards  the  erection  of  the  meeting  house,  they  claimed 
an  interest  in  it,  and  for  aljout  a  year  the  two  congregations  held 
it  in  connnon.  This,  however,  led  to  some  misunderstanding 
and  conflict,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  original  congregation,  held 
May  5th,  1786,  tliey  resolv^ed  to  retain  the  liouse,  and  pay  back 
to  the  members  of  the  new  congregation  what  they  had  con- 
tributed. Each  party  selected  an  arbitrator,  and  these  two  a 
third.  Tliesc  arbitrators  adjusted  the  matter,  and  the  claims 
were  paid,  and  the  two  congregations  were  separated  in  things 
temporal  as  well  as  ecclesiastical. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1790,  Mr.  Eroudtit  was  ai.i)ointed  by 
I'resbytery  to  moderare  in  a  call  in  Cambridge,  and  on  the  7th 
of  Seiitember  following,  a  call  was  made  out  for  Mr.  John  Dun- 
lap  "signed  by  seventy-four  mend)ers  and  adherents."'     On  tlie 


no  HISTORY    OF    THE 

13tli  of  October  this  call  was  siistalueil  and  presented  to  Mr. 
Duulap.  He  left  the  matter  to  the  judgment  of  the  Presbytery, 
and  ill  accordance  with  its  advice  he  accepted,  but  it  is  noted 
in  the  minutes  that  this  was  "witli  the  express  limitation  that 
no  innovation  shall  be  made  in  the  order  and  management  of 
the  church  without  the  consent  of  Synod."  The  recent  history 
of  the  congregation  seemed  to  call  for  this  Presbyterial  restric- 
tion. The  congregation  took  this  kindly,  but  like  prudent 
men  they  wished  to  kn(nv  distinctl}^  nnd  specitieally  what  lib- 
erty the  l^resbytery  would  allow  them.  So  on  the  3d  of  May, 
1791,  "The  Protestant  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Cambridge 
petitioned,  that  if  a  minister  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Synod 
or  of  the  S}'nod  of  Xew  York  and  IMiiladelphia  (Presbyterian), 
should  tarry  in  the  town  over  Sabbath,  they  might  be  allowed 
to  ask  him  to  preach,  and  that  in  case  of  the  death  or  removal 
of  Mr.  Dunlap  they  might  be  at  liberty  to  call  a  pastor  from 
either  of  the  aforesaid  Synods,  as  a  majority  of  the  congregation 
might  determine."  At  a  subse([uent  sitting  of  the  same  meet- 
ing, on  the  7th  of  May,  the  Presley  tery  after  considerable  discus- 
sion 

"  Resolved^  That  the  [)etition  is  unreasonable,  as  it  requires 
concessions  from  Presbytery  which  can  only  be  made  consis- 
tently b}'  Synod,  and. a  compact  to  a  future  election  concerning 
which  no  directions  can  be  given  until  the  occasion  arise. 

'■'Hesolrcd,  That  in  the  present  state  of  the  congregation  of 
Cambridge  the  Presbyter}'  rely  upon  the  prudence  of  the  min- 
ister and  session,  who  it  is  ex])ected  will  impartialh^  attend  to 
the  edification  of  the  Church,  if  ever  they  shall  have  occasion 
to  consider  the  expediency  of  employing  a  minister  of  the 
General  Assembly  who  shall  providentially  be  present. 

Resolved  further^  Tliat  no  authority  is  claimed  l)y  this  Pres- 
bytery to  cjmpel  the  election  of  a  candidate  or  minister  belong- 
ing to  the  Associate  Peformed  Synod  in  any  case  in  the  congre- 
gation, but  that  they  consider  the  petitioners  as  in  possession  of 
the  liberties  of  their  countr}',  and  as  much  aooountable  to  tlie 
Supreme  Judge,  for  their  conduct  in  future,  as  in  other  i)arts 
of  their  conversation." 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1791,  the  Presbytery  met  in  Cambridge 


rilESBYTERY    OF    AIKJYLE.  Ill 

t;)  orJaiu  and  install  tlicir  tirst  jtastor.  '^Messrs,  Wells  and 
l)arl>i'i'  were  aitpointed  to  read  the  Edict  at  the  tent  where  the 
('ontrregation  was  met, and  to  return  and  re})ort,  wdrudi  tliey  did. 
No  ohjeetions  were  made.  I'resbytery  went  constituted  to  tho- 
tent,  where  the  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Smith,  as  Mr.  Proudfit  who  had 
been  appointed  was  sick,  preached  from  Aets  X.  2i*.''  Mr. 
J)nnlap  was  then  ordained  and  installed, and  Mr.  Smith  preached 
again  in  the  afternoon  from  John  Til.  16. 

The  population  of  Cambridge  had  so  increased,  and  in  tem- 
poral matters  they  had  so  prospered,  that  those  of  like  sympa- 
thies in  religious  faith  and  practice,  were  now  strong  enough 
t()  separate  themselv^es  from  others  and  maintain  their  own 
church  ordinances.  The  Associate  congregation  had  thus  or- 
ganized in  1785,  and  now  those  of  New  England  origin  who 
had  hitherto  been  members  of  the  old  Cambridge  church,  with- 
drew and  organized  themselves  into  a  Presbyterian  Church, 
subordinate  to  the  Presbytery  of  Troy.  This  congregation 
was  organized  on  the  17th  of  August,  1793.  Gershom  Wil- 
liams, was  ordainod  and  installed  as  their  tirst  pastor,  June  25, 
1794: ;  and  on  9th  of  November,  1794,  they  held  their  tirst 
communion,  when  their  membership*  numbered  forty-three. 
These  repeated  depletions  left  tlie  orignnal  church  with  a  mem- 
bership less  than  a  hundred. 

Mr.  Dunlap  was  regarded  as  a  good  preacher  and  a  warm- 
hearted man,  yet  his  congregation  grew  but  little  in  numbers 
during  the  twenty-tive  years  of  his  pastorate.  He  was  born  in 
Lanarkshire,  in  Scotland,  on  the  15th  of  Se[)tember,  1757  ; 
came  to  America  in  1774;  was  classically  educated  in  New 
Jerse\' ;  studied  theology  with  the  elder  Mason  ;  was  licensed 
October  13th,  1789  ;  was  ordained  and  installed  at  Cand^ridge, 
July  22,  1791  ;  resigned  September  3,  1816,  and  became  a  mis- 
sionary in  central  New  York,  under  the  direction  of  the  Young- 
Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York  ;  retired  from  this  posi- 
tion in  1822,  and  returned  with  his  l\imily  to  Cambridge  ;  sup- 
plied vacant  pulpits  in  "Washington  county,  and  the  edge  of 
Vermont,  and  died  from  a  cancer,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1829, 
after  having  submitted  to  a  painful  surgical  operation. 

On  the  25th  of  October,  1819,  Presbytery   sustained   a  call 


112  HISTORY    OF    TIIK 

from  this  congregatiou  to  Mr.  Donald  C.  McLaren,  whicli  lie 
accepted  on  the  29tli  of  N^ovember,  und  was  or.lained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  2Gth  of  January,  1820.  Donald  Campbell  Mc- 
Laren, J).  D.,  was  ])orii  in  the  citv  of  T^ow  York,  in  October, 
1795,  and  spent  his  boyhood  mainly  in  Onondaga  county;  was 
gradnated  at  Uni(^n  College  in  181o  ;  taught  for  two  years  ; 
entered  the  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York,  in  1815  ;  took 
a  full  fV)ur  years  course,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Saratoga  l*res- 
bytery  in  the  spring  of  1819  ;  was  ordained  aud  installed  in 
January,  1820  ;  voted  in  the  Oeneral  Synod  of  1821,  against 
overturing  the  plan  of  union  with  the  I'resbyterian  Church  ; 
in  August,  1826,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  congregation  iu  Cal- 
edonia, and  resigned  liis  charge  in  ('ambridgc;  resigned  the 
pastorate  of  Caledonia  in  July,  1852,  and  still  lives  in  Geneva. 

After  a  vacancy  of  two  years,  a  call  was  presented,  Xoveni- 
ber  28,  1828,  to  the  Rev.  William  Ilowden,  who  accepted  it, 
iind  entered  immediately  upon  the  duties  of  the  charge,  al- 
though from  some  unavoidable  delays,  his  installation  did  not 
take  place  until  the  29th  of  September,  1829.  On  the  11th  of 
June,  1834,  he  resigned,  and  was  transferred  to  the  I'resbytery 
of  Caledonia.  Mr.  Ilowden  w^as  born  in  England,  1783;  was 
educated  in  Scotland,  and  ordained  by  the  llaldaneites  ;  spent 
seven  years  as  a  missionary  in  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick, 
iiud  then  came  to  the  United  States.  After  leaving  Cambridge, 
he  spent  twenty  years  very  usefully  in  the  Tresbytery  of  Cal- 
edonia, and  princi})ally  in  Cattaraugus  county.  lie  died  in 
the  spring  of  1865.  lie  had  some  eccentricities  which  made 
him  appear  odd  to  strangers,  but  his  sermons  were  always  full 
of  excellent  matter,  expressed  in  good  language,  and  delivered 
witli  warmth  and  earne^stness.  In  disposition  he  was  genial 
and  simple  hearted. 

As  narrated  elsewhere,  the  Whiteside  family  settled  at  an 
early  da}'  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  some  six  miles  from 
the  village,  and  formed  a  nucleus  of  a  little  family  of  Cove- 
nanters, who  at  the  union  1782,  joined  the  Associate  congrega- 
tion which  centered  in  the  village.  This  western  wing  built  a 
meeting  house  for  their  own  accommodation,  about  the  year 
1800,  and  liere  all  the  yttistors  preached  about  one-third  of  the 


I'llESBYTEUV    OK    ARiiVLE.  11-5 

time.  In  February,  I80I,  this  hrancli  pi'titioiiLMl  I'l-cshjterv  for 
iiulepondeut  supply,  wliich  was  o-ranted,  and  on  tlic  14t]i  of 
August,  1832,  West  Cyambridge  was  separated  from  Old  Cam- 
bridge and  made  a  separate  organization,  and  l*eter  Gordou 
took  charge  of  it  as  stated  supply.  J3ut  experience  soon  showed 
that  the  two  branches  were  not  ai)le  to  support  two  pastors, 
so  Mr.  llowden  resigned  in  1S;34,  and  West  Cambridge  gave 
up  its  independent  organization  and  returned  to  the  old  condi- 
tion. The  consolidated  congregation,  on  the  4th  of  September, 
l<So5,  irave  a  call  to  Mr.  Gordon,  which  he  accepted,  and  was 
installed  u[ton  the  8th  of  the  following  month.  On  the  10th 
of  February,  1840,  he  resigned  and  passed  to  the  J/resbytery  of 
New  York. 

I'eter  Gordon,  was  born  in  (Trlasgow,  in  Scotland,  in  1801,  was 
graduated  at  the  Uiuversity  of  that  city,  and  studieil  theology 
for  two  years  in  the  same  institution.  He  then  came  to  the 
United  States  and  tinished  his  studies  under  Dr.  Alexander 
Ihdlions,  and  under  the  care  of  the  Associate  rresb3'tery  of 
Cambridge.  But  for  reasons  satisfactory  to  himself  he  changed 
his  ecclesiastical  relations,  and  sought  and  received  licensure  on 
the  9th  of  July,  1820,  from  the  Associate  Heformed  Presbytery 
of  Washington,  and  was  ordained  sine  fitido  on  the  20th  of  the 
following  (October,  after  whicli  he  performed  active  and  efficient 
missionary  labor  in  northern  Xevv  York  and  Canada  for  two 
years.  After  leaving  Cand3ridge  he  served  Jane  street  church 
in  Xew  York  for  several  years,  was  connected  f(n'  a  short  time 
with  three  or  four  other  congregations,  spent  three  or  four  years 
in  Australiain  a  very  laborious  ministerial  service,  returne<l  and 
labored  till  his  death.  lie  died  from  a  tumor,  at  his  residence 
in  West  Cambridge,  on  the  15th  of  September,  1865.  Mr. 
Gordon  was  above  the  average  as  a  preacher,  botli  in  matter  and 
manner  and  was  very  courteous  and  genial  in  social  intercourse. 
On  the  18th  of  January,  1842,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Kev. 
Thomas  C.  McLaury  of  White  Lake,  Sullivan  county.  This 
was  accepted,  and  he  was  installed  on  the  oOth  of  tlie  following- 
May.  Mr.  McLaury  was  born  in  Kortright,  Delaware  county, 
November  10th,  1805  ;  was  graduated  at  Lnion  College,  studied 
theology  in  the  Newburgh  Seminary  ;  was  licensed  l»y  the  Asst)- 
<s 


114  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ciate  Reformed  Presbytery  of  Saratoga  in  September,  1831 ;  was 
ordained  and  installed  at  White  Lake,  on  the  23d  of  September, 
1 836.  On  the  21st  of  July,  1852,  he  resigned  the  charge  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  soon  afterwards  accepted  a  call  to  Lisbon,  at  which 
place  he  died  upon  the  6th  of  January,  1853,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  the  peace  of  a  triumphant  faith.  lie  was  not  regarded  as 
an  attractive  preacher,  although  he  possessed  very  fair  culture 
and  attainments.  lie  was  an  active  pastor  and  possessed  excel- 
lent social  qualities. 

On  the  1st  of  jSTovember,  1853,  William  B.  Shortt  accepted  a 
call  and  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  on  the  13th  of  the 
following  December,  and  is  still  in  charge.  In  1845,  they  aban- 
doned the  old  frame  church  and  built  a  neat  brick  one  in  the 
village.  The  glebe  lot,  hy  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature 
passed  May,  27,  1855,  was  sold,  and  the  avails  appropriated  to 
the  benefit  of  the  congregation,  and  a  very  comfortable  par- 
sonage was  purchased  adjoining  the  church  lot.  In  numerical 
strength  the  congregation  has  changed  but  little  for  the  last 
eighty  years;  and  its  spiritual  life  and  enterprise  have  been  fair, 
but  never  spasmodic. 

Mr.  Shortt  was  born  in  Ireland;  was  graduated  at  Belfast, 
and  studied  theology  at  the  ISTewburgh  Seminary  ;  was  licensed 
by  the  Philadelphia  Presbytery  on  the  27th  of  Se[)tember,  1850, 
and  has  had  no  other  charge. 

There  is  no  congregational  or  Presbyterial  record,  or  authen- 
tic tradition  to  show  who  were  ruling  elders  during  the  first 
twenty  years  of  the  congregation's  history.  It  has  been  seen 
that  matters  had  been  managed  in  a  loose  and  negligent  way, 
and  the  probability  is  that  no  additions  had  been  made  to  the 
(H-iginal  session,  and  that  it  had  well-nigh  wasted  away,  for 
one  of  the  first  things  done  after  the  installation  of  Mr.  Bun- 
lap  Avas  to  add  five  members  to  the  session.  Phineas  White- 
side was  born  in  Ireland,  and  emigrated  to  this  county  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  settled  on  the  Pequea 
creek  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  On  the  20th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1754,  he  was  ordained  at  Octoraro  as  a  ruling  elder  in 
the  Covenanter  Church,  He  settled  in  Cambridge  in  1766,  and 
at  the  union  of  1782,  he  and  his  Covenanter  associates  joined 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYLE.  llf) 

the  Cambridge  church.  On  the  31st  of  August,  1791,  he  was 
elected  and  installed  as  ruling  elder.  On  the  same  day  James 
Ashton,  Joseph  Hill,  Archibald  Robertson  and  Fortunatus 
Sherman  were  ordained.  George  Barber,  James  Edie  and 
John  McMillan  were  added  December  8d,  1793.  William  Hill, 
David  Mack  and  Alexander  Marshall,  June  10th,  1799.  Lemuel 
Sherman  and  James  Stevenson,  M.  D.,  January  1st,  1805. 
Zadoc  Norton  and  William  Van  Kirk,  Januar}^  7th,  1812.  In 
1820,  John  Marshall  represented  the  congregation  in  Presby- 
tery. John  Barber  and  James  Stevenson,  jr.,  April  18th,  1831. 
George  McFarland  and  Fortunatus  Sherman,  July  21,  1834. 
At  the  same  time  William  Whiteside  was  received  from  "West 
Cambridge,  when  the  two  wings  were  re-united.  Matthew 
Stevenson,  M.  D.,  and  Ebenezer  Robertson,  December  23d,  1838. 
Zonas  Robertson  and  Zina  Sherman,  May  25th,  1845.  Gilbert 
I>ailey,  Hiram  Parrish  and  John  Parrish,  Xovember  14,  1847. 
William  Connell,  March  31,  1850.  James  Thompson,  August 
25, 1859.  David  Doig,  December  4, 1859.  John  R.  McArthur, 
AV.  W.  McClelland,  George  McGeoch  and  Lemuel  S.  Skinner, 
December  13th,  18G8. 

Coila. 

The  original  church  in  Cambridge  was  composed  of  three 
distinct  elements.  Part  were  Irish,  part  were  New  Englanders, 
and  })art  were  Scots,  (^uite  a  number  of  this  Scottish  part 
declined  going  into  the  union  of  1782,  from  which  the  Asso- 
ciate Reformed  C'hurch  sprung,  and  being  joined  by  some  fam- 
ilies fresh  from  Scotland,  they  resolved^  to  make  an  effort  to 
supply  themselves  with  o;ospel  ordinances  according  to  tlieir 
choice.  In  the  spring  of  1784,  a  number  of  jtersons  met  to- 
gether and  drew  up  a.  petition  for  this  purpose,  addressed  to  the 
Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania  which  then  consisted  of 
Messrs.  Marshall  and  Clarkson.  As  these  ministers  were  in- 
stalled pastors,  and  located  nearly  four  hundre<l  miles  distant, 
the  prospects  of  success  were  certainly  not  very  promising,  still 
they  determined  to  try,  and  soon  found  a  messenger  willing 
to  risk  the  dangers  and  to  endure  the  fatigue  of  the  journey. 
Mrs.  Nancy  Hinsdale,  a  widow  woman    of  Irish   origin,  took 


116  lllt^TORY    OF    THE 

lier  provisions  ibr  the  way,  a  buiuUe  of  clothing,  and  the  im- 
portant document,  and  started  for  Philadelphia  on  foot.  Tlie 
petition  was  presented  on  the  24th  of  August,  1784, and  itsprayer 
was  granted;  for  the  E,ev.  Thomas  Beveridge  had  a  short  time 
previously  arrived  from  Scotland,  and  was  at  the  disposal  of 
Presbytery.  Tie  visited  Cambridge  in  the  autumn  and  spent  the 
winter  here  and  in  the  vicinity.  In  the  spring  he  went  to  jS^ew 
York  city,  and  spent  a  couple  of  months  in  looking  after  some 
Scottish  families  there,  and  returned  in  the  summer  and  for- 
mally organized  a  church  under  the  title  of  the  Associate 
Congregation  of  Cambridge,  and  dispensed  the  Lord's  Supper 
on  the  13th  of  August,  1785,  to  seventy-eight  communicants, 
in  the  old  frame  meeting  house  on  the  turnpike  l)elow  the  vil- 
lage. These  Avere  not  all  from  the  old  Cambridge  congregation, 
neither  did  they  all  strictly  belong  to  the  new  organization. 
Some  were  from  Argyle,  and  othcs  from  Salem  and  Hebron 
who  had  been  more  or  less  identified  with  Dr.  Clark's  congrega- 
tion, and  had  been  gathered  up  by  Mr.  Beveridge  in  his  mis- 
sionary  labors. 

In  the  autumn  of  1788,  they  gave  a  call  to  Mr.  Beveridge, 
which  he  accepted  and  immediately  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
the  charge,  although  from  the  necessity  of  spending  much  of 
his  time  in  supplying  other  places,  he  was  not  regularly  installed 
until  the  10th  of  September,  1789,  and  then  for  only  three- 
fourths  of  his  time.  For  about  a  year  they  used  the  old  frame 
meeting  house  on  the  turnpike,  and  as  they  had  contributed 
towards  its  erection  they  claimed  part  ownershi}*.  This  claim 
was  recognized  by  the  old  congregation,  and  arbitrators  were 
selected  who  determined  the  amount  to  be  refunded  and  the 
ma-tter  was  amicaljly  adjusted. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1798,  Mr.  Beveridge  set  out  Ibr  Bar- 
net,  Vermont,  to  assist  Mr.  Goodwillie  at  his  conmiunion,  and 
was  taken  ill  with  dysentery  on  the  way.  Still  he  preached  on 
Saturday,  assisted  at  the  communion  on  Sabbath,  although  so  ill 
that  he  had  to  sit,  and  preached  on  Sabbath  evening.  He  was 
confined  to  his  bed  for  the  next  three  weeks,  during  which  time, 
Mr.  (Toodwillie  from  the  same  disease  was  very  ill  and  two  of 
his  children  died.     On  the  last  Sabbath  of  his  life,  Mr.  Beve- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYT.E.  117 

ridge  found  a  considerable  number  of  people  in  the  lu^u^^e,  draAvu 
thither  from  sympatliy  witli  the  aiHicted  family,  and  raised 
himself  up  in  the  bed,  and  after  prayer  and  praise,  preached  an 
excellent  sermon  an  hour  long,  from  Psalm  XXXI.  20  ;  "0  love 
the  Lord,  all  ye  His  saints."  His  disease  ^vas  greatly  aggravated 
by  his  exertion,  and  at  dawn  the  next  morning  he  said,  "I  am 
a  dying  man,  and  am  dying  fast,  are  you  not  also  persuaded  I 
am  d3-ing  ?"  13eing  answered  aflirmatively  he  said,  "It  is  well, 
I  am  not  afraid  to  die."  He  called  the  family  around  him  to 
pray  with  them  for  the  last  time.  Ho  prayed  audibly  for  the 
('hurch  of  Christ  in  general,  the  Secession  body  in  particular, 
his  own  congregation,  especiall^^  the  younger  portion  of  it,  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry,  Mr.  Marshall,  of  riiiladelphia  and 
Mr.  Goodwillie  by  name,  for  those  who  had  ministered  to  him 
in  his  illness;  hetheii  committed  his  own  soul  into  his  Redeem- 
er's hands,  and  concluded  in  allusion  to  David's  words  at  the 
close  of  the  72d  Psalm,  with  these  words:  '■'-The  prayers  of 
Thomas  Beveridge  are  now  ended.''  In  the  afternoon  he  asked 
Mr.  Goodwillie  if  he  kncAv  when  the  Son  of  Man  would  come  : 
he  replied  that  he  thought  it  would  bo  about  ten  o'clock,  or 
at  least  about  cock-crowing  and  the  answer  proved  prophetic, 
for  just  at  ton,  on  the  night  of  July  23d,  he  expired  without  a. 
struggle. 

Mr.  Beveridge  was  born  in  1740  at  Eastside,  in  Fifeshire, 
Scotland;  studied  theology  with  Moncrietf  at  Alloa.  After 
licensure  he  became  assistant  to  Adam  Gib,  of  Edinburgh.  In 
the  spring  of  1784  he  was  ordained  and  sent  to  the  asssitance  of 
the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania.  Of  him,  his  son. 
Dr.  Beveridge,  says,  "those  who  best  remember  his  ministrj-  all 
unite  in  testifying  that  he  did  not  excel  as  an  orator.  He  re- 
tained his  Scotch  pronunciation,  and,  although  of  a  mild  dis- 
position, it  is  said  that  in  his  public  speaking,  his  manner  was 
somewhat  severe  and  stern.  In  more  important  things,  liow- 
over,  his  qualitications  for  the  ministry  wore  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary standard,  and  his  ministerial  lal)ors,  botli  in  the  pulpit 
and  out  of  it,  were  held  in  much  esteem." 

In  the  autumn  of  1798,  the  Rev.  John  Banks,  two  years 
from  Scotland,  began  to  supply  the  congregation,  and  soon  re- 


118  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ceived  a  call,  wliicli  he  accepted,  but  was  not  installed  until  in 
September,  1799.  A  trouble  soon  sprung  up  wliich  involved 
Mr.  Banks,  so  that  by  the  direction  of  Sj-nod  he  was  "loosed" 
from  his  charge  in  June,  1802,  and  transferred  to  Florida  in 
Montgomer}^  county.  For  a  sketch  of  Dr.  Banks  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  third  chapter  of  this  history. 

On  the  21st  of  I^ovember,  1804,  a  call  was  given  to  tiie  Rev. 
James  Ramsay  of  Chartiers  Presbytery,  who  was  afterwards  so 
long  and  so  well  known  as  Professor  of  Theology.  This  call 
was  declined.  On  the  18th  of  June,  1807,  a  call  was  given  to 
Mr.  Alexander  Bullions,  who  had  arrived  from  Scotland  in  the 
previous  December.  This  call  was  declined,  but  it  was  renewed 
again  in  October,  and  after  some  negotiation  was  accepted  and 
he  Avas  ordained  and  installed  on  the  13th  of  April,  1808,  and 
remained  pastor  for  almost  fifty  years.  During  this  long  pas- 
torate, he  from  time  to  time  sang  of  mercy  and  of  judgment. 
The  congregation  had  its  reverses  and  its  seasons  of  prosperity. 
In  1830  a  difficulty  began  to  spring  up  in  the  Presbytery  which 
seriously  involved  Dr.  Bullions.  This  assumed  a  variety  of 
phases  and  passed  through  many  stages  until  an  act  of  suspen- 
sion was  passed  on  the  5th  of  October,  1837,  and  on  the  7th  of 
February,  1838,  Dr.  Bullions  and  a  majority  of  the  congrega- 
tion declined  the  further  jurisdiction  of  the  Presbytery.  This 
was  followed  by  the  formation  or  recognition  of  a  residuary 
church  on  the  loth  of  the  same  month  and  the  deposition  of 
the  Doctor  from  the  ministry  on  the  12tli  of  the  following  April. 
The  residuary  church  numbered  about  sixty  communicants, 
while  the  Doctor's  adherents  "comprised  all  the  elders  of  said 
church,  the  six  trustees,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  com- 
municants." The  minority  claimed  the  property  which  was  in 
possession  of  the  majority,  andalong  andexpensive  chancery  suit 
was  the  result.  Tlje  minority  first  gained  the  property-,  but 
after  appealing,  the  majority  finally  gained  and  held  the  property. 

After  selling  out  their  interest  in  the  original  meetinghouse, 
this  congregation,  on  the  7th _of  July,  1786,  for  the  considera- 
tion of  six  pounds,  purchased  half  an  acre  of  land  from  Jona- 
than French,  to  wliich  three  subsequent  additions  were  made, 
so  that  the  whole  com[)rised  about  twenty-two  acres.     U[)()n 


ITxESUYTERY    OF    ARGYLE.    '  119 

this  a  \voodeii  building  was  first  erected,  and  in  1833,  tlio 
present  brick  church.  Threo  success'vo  parsonages  liavc 
been  built.  This  real  estate  was  first  held  by  six  trustees 
as  a  personal  trust,  and  in  1802,  they  took  out  a  deed  of 
incorporation,  \vhich,  through  neglect,  they  forfeited,  and 
were  re-incorporated  on  the  21st  of  iTovember,  1826.  Their 
corporate  title  was  "The  Associate  Congregation  of  Cambridge 
of  the  county  of  Washington,  and  State  of  jSTew  York,  adher- 
ing to  the  principles  of  the  Associate  Presbyter}-  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, formerly,  now  the  Associate  Synod  of  ]!:^orth  America," 
J)r.  Bullions  sought  and  obtained  restoration  to  the  ministry 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Vermont,  which  assumed  the  right  to 
take  his  case  under  review,  and  in  connection  with  Duncan 
Stalker  and  Archibald  Wh^'te,  constituted  themselves  into  what 
they  styled  "The  Associate  Presbytery  of  Cambridge."  tinder 
the  care  of  this  Presbytery  the  congregation  remained  for 
eighteen  years,  and  then  resumed  its  place  as  before. 

In  September,  1842,  David  Goodwillie  Bullions  was  ordained 
and  installed  as  co-pastor  Avith  his  father.  This  position  he  re- 
signed in  the  spring  of  1857,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian congregation  at  West  Alilton  in  Saratoga  county,  where 
he  died,  October  1st,  1864.  The  Rev.  Henry  Gordon  was  called 
duly  the  14th,  and  was  installed  September  the  1st,  1857,  as 
successor  of  Dr.  Bullions,  and  is  still  in  pastoral  charge.  Mr. 
(cordon  was  born  January  1st,  1826,  in  the  county  of  Meath  in 
Ireland;  received  his  classical  education  in  his  native  country, 
and  studied  theology  in  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Seminary 
in  Philadelphia  under  I)rs.  Wylie  and  Crawford  ;  was  ordained 
in  July,  1848,  by  the  jSTorthern  Presbytery  of  tiie  Reformed 
]?resb3^terian  Church  ;  spent  nearly  two  years  as  missionary  in 
Xova  Scotia,  and  then  labored  in  Lisbon  in  St.  Lawrence 
county  until  called  to  Coila.  In  addition  to  his  labors  at  home, 
Mr.  Gordon  for  several  summers  preached  with  marked  useful- 
ness, every  alternate  Sabbath  afternoon,  in  the  old  Whiteside 
church  in  West  Cambridge. 

Alexander  Bullions,  1).  1).,  was  born  in  AuchtergavL'U,  Perth- 
shire, Scotland,  in  February,  1779.  llis  parents  belonged  to 
the  Kirk,  but  at  tlie  age  of  sixteen  he  made  a  profession  of  re- 


120  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ligioii  ill  the  Associate  Church.  Was  graduated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh ;  studied  tlieology  for  live  years  under  the 
Rev.  Arcliibald  Bruce  of  Whitburn;  was  licensed  May  20, 
1S06;  wished  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  India,  but  no  British 
vessel  at  the  time,  for  political  reasons,  would  carry  out  a  mis- 
sionary, so  he  sailed  for  Xew  York  where  he  landed  on  the  8tli 
of  December,  1806.  He  arrived  in  Camljridge  in  the  last  of 
the  following  January  ;  was  called  in  June,  and  ordained  and 
installed  in  April,  1808,  and  died  in  this  pastoral  relation 
June  26,  1857.  He  was  a  large  robust  man  of  faultless  health, 
wlio  never  employed  a  physician  and  never  omitted  a  pulJic 
service.  He  was  no  orator,  and,  to  the  last,  lost  but  little  of 
his  Scotch  accent;  but  liis  sermons  were  always  instructive. 
'•  lie  was  a  man  of  great  intellectual  power,  of  extensive  ac- 
quirements, of  boundless  good  humor,  of  unswerving  integrit}'. 
of  a  most  genial  spirit,  of  earnest  devotion  to  his  work,  and  of 
commanding  and  far-reaching  influence.'' 

The  original  ruling  elders  were  ordained  in  the  summer  of 
1785,  and  consisted  of  James  Eddie,  William  McAuley,  James 
Rolls,  Alexander  Skellie  and  James  Small.  In  1794,  John 
Ashton,  Thomas  Cummings,  James  Hoy,  John  McClellan  and 
Robert  Oliver  were  added.  In  1800,  William  Graham,  John 
Maxwell  and  John  Modie.  In  1814,  Edward  Cook,  Edward 
Lauderdale,  George  Lourie,  William  McGeoch  and  Edward 
Small.  In  1830,  John  Dobbin,  James  Lourie,  George  J.  Max- 
well, John  Robertson  and  John  Shiland.  In  1840,  Charles  Clark, 
Robert  ]\JcClellan,  George  Robertson  and  James  Shiland.  In 
1853,  John  Maxwell  and  Daniel  McFarland.  In  1859,  Peter 
Hill,  AVilliam  McMillan,  John  Shiland  and   William  Shiland. 

South  Arg^yle. 

South  Argyle  and  Cambridge  (Coila)  were  organized  at  the 
same  time  and  under  the  same  circumstances,  and  what  has 
already  been  narrated  need  not  be  repeated  here.  It  wasforiu- 
ally  organized  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Beveridge  in  the  summer 
of  1785,  and  was  considered  a  part  of  his  charge,  paid  him  one- 
fourth  of  his  salary  and  received  one-fourth  of  his  services. 
There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  Mr.  Beveridge  was  form- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AROYLE.  121 

ally  installed  in  South  Ariryle.  The  })r()bahilities  are  that  hr 
Avas  not,  but  the  installation  in  Cambridge  was  regarded  as  ex- 
tendino-  to  both  branehes  of  his  charge.  After  his  death  they 
were  supplied  for  a.  season  by  the  Rev.  Archibald  Whyte,  whose 
residence  was  within  its  bounds.  In  the  summer  of  ISOO,  they 
were  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Allison,  to  whom  they  gave, 
soon  afterwards,  an  unsuccessful  call. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Laing  of  Chartiers  i'resbytery  and  Rev. 
Thomas  Hamilton  of  the  Philadelphia  Presbytery  visited  Cam- 
bridge in  1803,  as  commissioners  of  Synod,  to  settle  the  Ranks 
trouble,  and  the  former  preached  in  South  Argyle.  The  con- 
sequence was  a  call  made  out  for  him  on  the  11th  of  A[iril, 
1804,  which  he  accepted  on  the  30th  of  May,  although  he  did 
not  take  charge  of  the  congregation  until  the  autumn  of  1805, 
and  was  not  installed  until  the  26th  of  March,  1806.  In  the 
autumn  of  1810,  Mr.  Laing  was  convicted  by  Presbytery  of 
'•l)eing  intoxicated,"  and  was  rebuked.  This  was  followed  in 
January  by  a  petition  from  a  "considerable  number  of  the 
members  of  the  congregation,  requesting  a  dissolution  of  the 
connection  betwixt  them  and  their  pastor,  alleging  that  his 
usefulness  was  at  an  end.''  The  relation  was  dissolved  on  the 
2d  of  September,  1811. 

Mr.  Laing  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1750,  was  thoroughly 
educated,  and  for  eight  years  was  pastor  of  a  congregation  in 
Dunse.  lie  came  to  the  United  States  in  1795,  and  became 
pastor  of  the  congregation  at  Butlalo,Ayashington  county, I'enn- 
sylvania,  in  1797.  In  1814,  he  took  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
churches  in  Delaware  county,  but  offences  and  troubles  such  as 
he  had  passed  through  at  Buffalo  and  at  South  Argyle  must 
needs  come,  and  in  May,  1823,  was  suspended  from  the  min- 
istry and  in  June  "  loosed  "  from  his  charge.  He  was  restored 
to  the  ministry  a  year  afterwards,  but  did  not  enter  upon  its 
active  duties,  but  resided  at  Bovina  until  his  death,  which 
tooK  place  May,  29, 1839.  "  His  life  was  restless  and  checl^ered. 
He  was  a  man  of  commanding  appearance  and  great  dignity  of 
manner;  was  noted  for  his  eloquence  and  force  as  a  speaker, 
especially  when  combatting  the  attacks  of  his  assailants."'     In 


122  HISTORY    OF    THE 

liis  last  years  lie  s^ieiit  much  time  in  reading,  meditation  and 
prayer.     They  were  his  best  years. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1814,  a  unanimous  call  was  given  to 
Alexander  McClelland,  a  native  of  the  Presbytery,  a  pupil  of 
Dr.  Anderson,  and  a  licentiate  of  the  Chartiers  Presbytery. 
He  accepted,  and  delivered  his  trials,  and  August  the  9th, 
1815,  was  appointed  for  his  ordination  and  installation.  But 
as  Presbytery  had  serious  difficulty  in  consenting  to  his  ordina- 
tion, because  of  his  advanced  views  upon  christian  communion, 
he  Unally  concluded  to  decline  ordination,  and  was  not  present 
on  the  day  appointed.  He  was  soon  afterwards  ordained  and 
installed  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Rutger 
street,  ^STew  York.  He  was  Professor  of  Khetoric,  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosoph}',  in  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  Pennsylva- 
nia, from  1821  to  '29,  and  from  1829  until  his  death, December 
19,  1864,  he  was  Professor  in  the  College  or  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  New  Brunswick,  Xew  Jersey.  He  was  a  man  of  very 
tine  mind,  of  extended  culture,  a  briUiant  and  instructive 
preacher,  and  as  a  teacher  without  any  superior. 

On  the  7th  January,  1818,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Peter 
Bullions,  with  the  promise  of  $500  and  glebe.  He  was  or- 
dained and  installed  March  4th,  ensuing.  His  pastorate  of  six 
years  and  a  half  was  pleasant  and  prosperous,,  and  then  termi- 
nated abruptly  and  irregularly.  Upon  returning  in  the  autumn 
of  1824,  from  a  mission  to  Canada,  he  preached  one  Sabbath, 
and  informed  the  congregation  that  he  had  been  elected  Pro- 
fessor of  Languages  in  the  Albany  Academy,  and  left  forth- 
with. His  resignation  was  accepted  on  the  2d  of  February, 
1825,  and  his  irregular  departure  censured. 

Peter  Bullions,  D.  D.,  was  born  at  Moss  Side,  near  Pertli,  in 
Scotland,  in  December,  1791.  and  died  at  Troy,  'New  York, 
February  13,  1864.  He  was  graduated  at  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  studied  theology  under  Professor  Paxton;  was 
licensed  in  June,  1817,  and  sailed  next  month  for  l^ew  York. 
After  leaving  Argyle,  he  became  a  Professor  in  the  Albany 
Academy,  and  so  remained  for  twenty-four  years.  In  1832,  he 
began  to  preach  in  Troy,  and  when  the  Associate  congregation 
\vas  there  organized  in  1834,  he  became  its  pastor.      In    1852, 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARCYLE.  128 

lie  resigned,  and  made  a  lengtliy  visit  to  liis  native  land.  After 
his  return  he  was  again  installed  in  Troy  as  his  own  sueeessor, 
and  remained  there  in  active  service  until  he  died.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  linguists  in  our  country,  possessed  refined  and 
winning  manners,  was  exemplary  in  all  his  ways,  and  was  an 
al)le,  earnest  and  devoted  preacher. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1825,  an  unsuccessful  call  was  given  to 
the  Rev.  James  White,  and  in  1826,  a  similar  call  was  given 
to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Beveridge,  and  on  the  7th  of  February, 
1828,  a  second  unsuccessful  call  was  given  to  him.  In  the 
spring  of  1829,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev.  James  V.  Miller, 
which  resulted  in  his  installation  in  October.  At  the  beginning 
of  his  pastorate  the  families  of  his  congregation  which  resided 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  town,  were  set  off  and  organized  into 
a  new  church  to  centre  at  i^ortli  Argyle.  Mr.  Miller  preached 
to  his  people  upon  the  subject  of  public  religious  covenanting, 
and  the  session  agreed  that  it  was  expedient  to  engage  in  this 
duty.  So  on  the  25th  of  June,  1833,  ninety-two  members  of 
tlie  congregation,  twelve  from  neighboring  congregations,  and 
seven  ministers  did,  with  uplifted  hands,  swear  to  the  bond 
iind  covenant,  avouching  the  Lord  to  be  their  God,  and  declar- 
ing themselves  to  be  His  covenated  people.  Thirteen  who  had 
formerly  covenanted,  assented  and  signed  the  bond. 

James  Patterson  Miller  was  born  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, August  1,  1792;  was  educated  at  Jetterson  College; 
tano-ht  two  years  ;  studied  theoloo-v  with  Dr.  Anderson  ;  taught 
airain  for  six  years;  became  (|uite  a  politician,  and  for  a  time 
the  editor  of  a  newspaper,  and  was  the  first  man  in  Ohio  who 
urged  the  claims  of  (leneral  Jackson  to  the  Presidency.  His 
wife  suddenly  died  in  December,  1824,  which  brought  such 
convictions  to  his  mind,  that  he  immediately  abandoned  his 
political  aspirations,  and  returned  to  his  original  design  and 
received  licensure  from  the  Chartiers  Presbytery,  in  August, 
1825.  He  was  ordained  on  the  6th  of  September,  1827,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Muskingum,  and  after  missionating  in  the  west, 
settled  in  South  Argyle.  In  1850,  the  Associate  Synod  ap- 
pointed him  missionary  to  Oregon.  He  accepted,  and  his  pas- 
toral relation  with  South  Argyle  was  dissolved  in  March,  1851. 


124  HISTORY    OF    THE 

lie  arrived  in  Oreo-oii,  June  8th,  of  the  same  year,  and  was 
actively  and  successful ly  engaged,  until  killed  on  tlie  2d  of 
April,  1851,  by  the  exjilosion  of  the  boiler  of  a  steamboat. 
M\\  Miller,  although  of  slow  and  hesitating  speech,  had  a  good 
mind  and  fair  scholarship,  and  being  a  practical  character,  made 
an  exceedingly  accurate  and  useful  member  of  church  courts. 
Ills  integrity  was  incoi-ruptible,  his  benevolence  was  great,  his 
temper  was  good,  and  his  social  (qualities  were  very  superior, 
so  that  he  always  held  with  a  strong  grasp  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  his  friends  and  parishioners. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1852,  they  called  Mr.  James  Thompson, 
Avho  had  been  licensed  by  the  Chartiers  Presbytery,  on  the  13tli 
of  June,  1849.  lie  accepted,  and  was  ordained  and  installed, 
July  13th,  1852.  On  the  29th  of  March,  1853,  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  a  new  congregation  in  New  York  city,  where  he  cour 
tinned  until  his  death.  In  May,  1853,  they  called  Joseph  R. 
Thompson,  but  hearing  that  he  had  just  settled  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 
they  withdrew  the  call.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1854,  they  called 
Alexander  Thompson,  who  accepted,  but  before  the  time  of  his 
installation,  he  died.  These  three  brothers  were  able  ministers 
and  good  men,  and  have  all  rested  from  their  labors. 

On  the  12th  of  May,  1856,  they  gave  a  unanimous  call  to 
James  AV.  McFarland,  but  at  his  request,  on  account  of  an 
ophthalmic  affliction  which  forbade  his  preaching  for  a  season, 
it  was  not  pressed.  In  October,  1856,  Mr.  James  Agnew  Duff 
was  called,  and  on  the  3d  of  the  following  February,  was  or- 
dained and  installed.  He  was  born  near  Darlington,  Beaver 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  26,  1825  ;  was  educated  at  Jef- 
ferson College  and  Canonsburg  Seminary  ;  was  licensed  October 
2,  1855,  by  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Ohio.  He  possessed  a 
good  mind,  with  a  special  fondness  for  debate.  Ilis  sermons  were 
evangelical,  and  sometimes  a  little  metaphysical,  but  always 
clear.  As  a  speaker  he  was  earnest,  and  held  the  attention  of  his 
hearers  well.  His  ministry  was  brief,  but  decidedly  success- 
ful.    He  died  October  6,  1860,  after  a  short  and  severe  illness. 

In  September,  1861,  an  unsuccessful  call  was  given  to  Mr. 
Thomas  H.  Hanna,  and  a  similar  one  in  May,  1862,  to  the  Rev. 
William  Bruce,  of  Baltimore.      The  Rev.  James  H.  Andrew, 


PRESBYTER V    OF    AROYLE.  125 

of  Oxtord,  J'ounsylvjuna,  AYas  called  July  1,  1S63,  took  cliarii'ii 
of  the  congregation  in  April,  1864,  and  was  installed  on  tlio 
7tli  of  the  ensuing  June.  lie  resigned  January-  13,  1874,  and 
is  n<)\Y  pastor  of  the  First  (-hnrch  of  Brooklyn.  On  the  21st 
of  January,  1875,  Mr.  A.  W.  Morris,  a  licentiate  of  the  I'res- 
hytery  of  Monmouth,  Avas  called,  and  on  the  7th  of  the  ibllo\Y- 
ing  September,  \vas  ordained  and  installed,  and  is  no^Y  in 
charge. 

In  the  Argyle  l*atent  Avas  reserved  a  glebe  of  live  hundred 
acres,  laid  out  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  its  greatest 
length  being  north  and  south.  This  \vas  set  aj)art  by  His 
Majesty  "for  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  minister  of  the  gospel 
and  schoolmaster  for  the  time  being  resident  and  officiating  on 
the  said  patent.''  In  process  of  time  John  Mclvisson,  of  New 
York  city,  became,  by  due  course  of  la^v,  sole  trustee  of  the 
jj;lebe,  and  beinc:  informed  that  there  were  two  oro-anized  con- 
gregations  located  upon  the  patent,  the  Associate  and  Associate 
Reformed,  he  ottered  to  convey  to  them  by  deed,  for  a  nominal 
consideration,  this  glebe,  if  they  Avould  make  an  amicable  divi- 
si(Mi  of  it  among  themselves.  Commissioners  from  the  two 
congregations  met  and  amicably  divided  the  lot  into  three  par- 
cels, as  suggested  by  William  Reid,  the  Associate  to  retain 
the  middle  one  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  because  their 
meeting  house  was  placed  upon  it,  and  the  Associate  Reformed 
because  of  their  greater  number  to  take  the  other  two  parts. 

Inmiediately  after  this,  on  tlie  28th  of  October,  1801,  the 
I'ongregation  became  incorporated,  and  (Jasper  IJain,  William 
Robertson,  Robert  Robertson,  David  Mclvnight,  John  Reid, 
and  John  Ilarslia,  were  elected  as  its  iirst  trustees.  The  first 
meeting  house  was  built  in  1787  or  '88,  of  pine  logs,  was  loca- 
ted about  one-third  of  a  mile  east  of  the  present  house,  and 
was  thirty  by  forty  feet  in  its  dimensions.  In  1805,  the  first 
parsonage  was  built,  and  in  1807,  the}'  substituted  a  good, 
three  thousand  dollar  frame  meeting  house  for  their  original 
one.  To  assist  in  making  these  improvements,  they  sold  forty 
;Acres  of  the  glebe,  and  still  retain  the  remaining  hundred  and 
twenty.  In  1858,  the  [)resent  meeting  house,  forty-six  by 
eighty-two  feet,  wa.s  erected  and  finished  according  to  the  taste 


126  HISTORY    OP    THE 

and  the  improvoments  of  the  ago.  b'oii  afterwards  the  present 
parsonage  house  was  built.  Tlie  s})iritual  life  and  benevolent 
Avorks  of  this  congregation  have  ])een  very  steady  and  uniform. 

The  eldership  of  this  Church  has  been  filled  by  the  following- 
persons  : 

In  1785,  at  the  organization  of  the  congregation,  John  Mc- 
Neil, John  McKnight,  and  AV^illiani  Reid,  were  installed.  On 
July  13,  1800,  George  Dunn,  Robert  Robertson,  John  Reid, 
and  John  Ilarsha.  On  the  18th  of  June,  1818,  James  Shaw, 
Gilbert  Robertson,  John  Stott,  Alexander  Skinner,  and  Peter 
McEachron.  In  the  middle  of  June,  1830,  Moses  Robertson, 
Samuel  Dobbin,  and  Alexander  Beverido^e.  On  June  8th,  1835, 
John  Bishop,  John  Henry,  and  James  I.  Robertson.  On  the 
19th  of  June,  1842,  David  Hall,  Isaac  Shaw,  and  George  Len- 
drum.  On  the  18th  of  January,  1849,  William  McNeil,  and 
Cornelius  McEachron.  On  the  31st  of  October,  1850,  John 
Reid,  jr.  On  the  12th  of  June,  1856,  William  A.  White,  Wil- 
liam McNeil,  2d,  and  William  Lendrum.  On  the  19th  of 
August,  1869,  Robert  0.  Robertson,  and  George  llenr3\  On 
the  1st  of  June,  1877,  Robert  Alexander,  William  C.  Lant, 
William  McCollum,  and  Duncan  Robertson. 

West  Hebron. 

The  precise  date  of  the  organization  of  this  congregation  is 
not  positively  known,  but  the  probabilities  point  strongly  to 
the  summer  of  1785,  for  it  was  certainly  the  work  'of  Mr.  Bev- 
eridge,  and  was  doubtless  attended  to  when  he  organized  Cam- 
bridge and  Argyle.  We  know  that  the  petition  which  was 
sent  in  the  summer  of  1784,  to  the  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania, 
contained  signers  from  Hebron  and  Salem  as  well  as  from  Cam- 
bridge and  Argyle.  On  the  2d  of  September,  1784,  the  Rev.  W. 
Marshall,  of  Philadelphia,  to  whom  this  petition  was  sent,  wrote 
thus  to  Mr.  John  Foster  one  of  the  signers  and  one  of  the  orig- 
inal members  of  this  church  :  "The  Presbytery  have  agreed  to 
supply  Cambridge  and  places  adjacent  2iS,  they  may  regularly  ap- 
ply, but  this  cannot  be  done  until  after  next  meeting  of  Presby- 
tery, October  24th,  atthis  place.  If  you  could  stir  up  such  as  want 
sermon  to  sign  petitions  to  be  transmitted  to  our  next  meet- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYLE.  127 

ing."  We  know  that  Mr.  Bevcridge,  who  had  arrived  from  Scot- 
land the  previous  spring,  was  sent  by  Presbytery  at  this  "next 
meeting"  to  Cambridge  and  adjacent  places,  that  he  labored 
there  during  the  winter  and  returned  again  in  the  summer  of 
1785,  and  organized  Cambridge  and  Argyle,  and  there  is  no  ap- 
parent reason  why  he  should  not  complete  his  work  and  organ- 
ize Hebron  then,  for  it  certainly  was  in  an  organized  condition 
three  years  after  that. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1788,  jNIr.  Beveridge  wrote  thus  from 
i^ew  York  city  to  this  same  John  Foster.  "The  Sacrament  of 
tlie  Lord's  Supper  is  to  l)e  dispensed  among  you  the  last  Sab- 
bath of  August,  unless  the  first  Sabbath  of  September  is  pre- 
ferred by  the  Session  at  Cambridge,  to  whom  I  have  wrote  on 
that  head.  I  will  be  up  two  weeks  before.  I  hope  that  matter 
will  be  thought  of  by  such  of  3^ou  as  are  in  the  offi'ie  of  elders^ 
and  that  you  will  endeavor  to  inform  3'ourselves  as  well  as  you 
can  a?  to  those  who  may  apply  for  admission."  An  indepen- 
dent session  deciding  upon  the  admission  of  members  certainly 
im[ilies  an  independent  organization.  This  same  letter  refers 
to  the  petition  which  Cambridge  sent  in  at  this  meeting  of 
Prcsbj^tery  for  the  moderation  of  a  call,  and  states  that  the 
prayer  of  the  petitioners  had  not  been  granted,  because  ]Mr. 
Goodwillie  who  had  just  arrived  had  not  yet  been  heard  in 
AVashington  cDunty,  and  the  choica  would  necessarily  bo  be- 
tr^veen  Mr.  Beveridge  and  Mr.  Whyte.  The  writer  then  con- 
tinues :  "The  people  with  you  and  in  the  Patent  (Argyle)  so  far 
as  I  know  never  directly  concurred  with  those  in  Cambridge 
in  their  petition  for  a  moderation."'  He  then  concludes  thus: 
"But  go  matters  as  they  will,  I  think  you  in  White  Creek'" 
(this  is  unquestionably  an  error  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  he 
means  Black  Creek,  for  by  that  name  did  Hebron  go  during  the 
Revolution  and  down  till  1786),  "and  those  in  the  Patent  (Ar- 
gyle) ought  to  come  to  some  agreement  with  those  in  Cam- 
bridge, as  to  what  proportion  of  sermon  you  are  to  have,  and 
how  matters  are  to  stand  between  you  and  them,  whether  you 
are  to  be  considered  as  one  congregation,  or,  which  I  think 
would  be  more  proper,  as  two.     If  you  settle  matters  of  that 


128  HISTORY    OF    THE 

kind  this  suiiiiiier  it  iiiaj  pave  the  way  for  your  ohtainiui'  a 
inoderatioii  at  our  next  meeting  in  the  fall." 

At  this  next  meeting  in  the  fall  of  1788,  the  prayer  from 
(-ambridge  was  granted,  and  a  call  was  moderated  for  Mr. 
Thomas  Beveridge,  and  he  was  installed  September  10th,  178'-), 
in  Cambridge.  The  call  was  from  Cambridge  and  Mr.  Beve- 
ridge was  installeil  as  pastor  of  Cambridge  alone,  although  by 
u  subsequent  arrangement  between  the  two  congregations,  ^Ir. 
]>everidge  gave  one-fourth  of  his  time  to  and  received  one-fourth 
of  his  salary  from  South  Argyle  during  his  entire  pastorate. 
Hebron  was  entirely  left  out  of  this  pastoral  supervision.  On  the 
illih  of  March,  1789,  after  the  calling  of  jVtr.  Beveridge  to  Cam- 
bridge and  before  his  installation,  Messrs.  John  Foster,  William 
Moncrieff  and  William  Moncrieft",jr.,sent  a  p.'tition  to  the  As_ 
.sociate  I'resb^-tery  of  Pennsylvania  to  meet  at  Philadelphia  in 
April,  1789,  or.  behalf  of  the  congregation  of  "Hebron  ami 
Salem,"  in  which  the}^  say:  "We  also  acknowledge  this  Pres- 
byter3''s  care  under  God  in  hitherto  helping  us  and  caring  for 
us.  And  now  as  our  neighbors  in  Cambridge  have  been  very 
unanimous  in  a  call  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beveridge,  and  although 
our  distance  will  not  allow  our  incorporating  with  them,  yet 
Avo  are  mucli  interested  in  it,  as  we  are  neither  able  to  support 
a  minister  ourselves  nor  to  do  much  for  paying  supplies,  yet  a 
.settled  minister  there  might  be  much  our  way  as  to  the  Sacra- 
ments, and  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beveridge  has  had  more  than  an 
ordinary  care  for  us  and  labored  more  than  ordinary  amongst  us, 
vv^e  would  ex[)ect  his  sympathy  still.  We,  therefore,  humbly 
plead  that  the  Presbytery  may  appoint  the  installment  of  Mr. 
Beveridge  as  soon  as  possible,  and  likewise  allow  us  what  su]»- 
ply  they  can,  and  your  petitioners  shall  pray  that  th,e  Lord'*; 
work  may  prosper." 

For  the  next  ten  3^ears  the  congregation  depended  u[ioii  sup- 
ply from  I'resb^'tery,  and  as  there  were  but  few  ministers  in  tbe 
body  and  they  thoroughly  occupied,  the  preaching  was  mainly 
done  by  the  Rev.  Arch.  Whyte.  The  first  effort  to  procure  a. 
pastor  was  at  a  congregational  meeting  held  I*^ovember  the  1st, 
1799,  when  the  following  action  was  taken,  viz:  "That  we  join 
with  the  people  of  Argyle  in  getting  a  minister,  and  that  we 


I'RESIJVTERV    OF    ARiiVLi;.  121) 

have  a  fourth  [)art  oF  his  hiburs,  an  I  that  wo  have  a  vt)ico  in 
his  call.  That  Aiuhxnv  Bovei-idire  and  John  Foster  be  a  com- 
mittee to  meet  with  the  commissioners  of  Argyk'  to  confer 
about  this  matter."  Such  an  arrangemont  was  made,  and  in 
October,  1800,  the  two  congregations  made  out  a* call  for  Mr. 
Thomas  Allison,  which  lie  declined.  When  Argyle  in  "I8O0 
began  to  mo\e  in  the  giving  of  a  call  to  Mr.  Laing,  they  asked 
Hebron  to  join  with  them  for  the  fourth. part  of  his  time,  but 
for  some  reasons  not  known,  Hebron  decline(L  Afterwards  in 
May,  1807,  they  clianged  their  minds  and  asked  for  the  fourtli 
]iart  of  Mr.  Laing's  time,  but  lie  declineth  They  next  in  1810, 
united  with  the  congregation  of  I'utnam  and  gave  a  call  to  Mr. 
])avid  French,  which  he  declined,  and  the  union  with  Put- 
nam was  terminated. 

In  1817,  Mr.  Peter  Bullions  came  into  the  bounds  of  Presbytery, 
and  preached  ^itli  great  acceptance  in  the  vacancies.  The  con- 
gregation of  West  Hebron  was  very  anxious  to  unite  wdth  the 
cliurch  in  Soutli  Argyle,  and  give  him  a  call.  That  congrega- 
tion was  not  willing  to  do  this,  because  they  felt  able  and  were 
very  desirous  to  secure  all  the  time  of  Mr.  Bullions.  So  on 
the  7th  of  .January,  1818,  South  Argyle  gave  a  call  to  Mr- 
Bullions  for  all  his  time,  })rdmising  the  use  of  the  gl'ebe  and 
$500  as  the  annual  salary.  Presbytery  was  in  session  the  same 
day  in  the  South  Argyle  meetinghouse,  and  the  call  was  imme- 
diately sustained  and  }irescnted,  and  as  the  record  of  Presb}'- 
tcry  states,  by  Mr.  Bullions  refused,  on  tlie  ground  that  the 
Hebron  congregation  was  excluded  from  any  share  of  his 
labors.  The  generality  of  Argyle  congregation  being  present, 
I'resbytery  adjourned  lor  a  little  to  give  them  an  opportunity 
to  remove  the  dilliculty.  Being  again  met,  it  was  stated  that 
the  Argyle  congregation  had  agreed  to  unite  wdth  Hebron  in 
allowing  them  a  share  of  his  labors.  Upon  which  Mr.  Bui 
lions  then  accepted  the  call.  He  was  ordained  and  installed 
in  Argyle  on  the -4th  of  the  ensuing  March.  The  mimites  ol 
I'resbyter}'  i)reseiit  no  evideut-e  to  show  that  AVest  Hebron  ever 
gave  a  regular  call  to  i)r.  Ihdlions,  or  that  he  was  ever  installed 
as  their  [lastor.  The  presumptions  are  entirely  against  it ;  yet, 
as  the  record  just  quoted    shows,  South    Arg\de   agreed   to  a 


130  HISTORY    OF    THE 

union  and  Presbytery  acquiesced  in  the  arrantreraent,  and  Dr. 
Bullions  regarded  West  Hebron  as  a  part  of  his  charge,  and 
gave  to  it  one-fourth  of  his  time,  and  received  from  it  one- 
fourth  of  his  salary.  He  did  not  resign  his  pastorate  of  South 
Argyle  till  the  2d  of  February,  1825,  yet  on  the  27th  (jf  Janu- 
ary, 1823,  he  resigned  his  care  of  the  Hebron  congregation,  and 
Presbytery  sanctioned  it. 

Dr.  Bullions'  five  years  ministry  in  AVest  Hebron  was  very 
successful.  He  gave  but  a  small  portion  of  his  time,  and  yet 
the  congregation  so  grew  and  strengthened  that  they  felt  able 
to  support  a  pastor  for  all  his  time  ;  and  the  desire  to  do  so  had 
something  to  do  with  the  Doctor's  withdrawal.  On  the  22d 
of  Septem])er,  1823,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  James  Irvine;  but 
the  Presbj'tery,  which  was  in  session,  declined  sustaining  it 
because  of  the  amount  of  salary  promised.  "■  The  Presbytery 
took  a  recess  for  a  few  minutes  to  give  the  congregation  an 
opportunity  of  requesting  their  friends  and  neighbors  to  con- 
tribute to  increase  the  salary.  On  returning  a  paper  was  pre- 
sented subscribed  by  some  individuals,  promising  certain  sums. 
The  call  was  then  sustained  and  presented  to  Mr.  Irvine,  who 
declined  accepting  it  at  present,  requesting  leave  to  consider  of 
it  till  next  meeting."  Passing  out  of  the  bounds  of  the  l^res- 
b3^tery,  he  did  not  accept  till  at  the  meeting  of  Synod  in  Phil- 
adelphia, the  next  May.  He  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
7th  of  July,  1824, 

Mr.  Irvine  was  born  in  Jackson  about  the  close  of  the  last 
century;  was  graduated  at  Union  College,  and  studied  theology 
under  Dr.  Banks,  and  under  the  care  of  the  Cambridge  Presby- 
tery, although  lie  was  licensed  by  the  Presl)ytery  of  Kentucky,  to 
which  he  had  been  certified  August  29,  1820.  In  September, 
1831,  he  left  Hebron  to  take  charge  of  the  Second  Associate 
congregation  in  New  York  city,  which  had  been  recently  or- 
ganized, wliere  he  was  installed  on  the  17th  of  the  following 
November,  and  where  he  died  on  the  25th  of  j^ovember,  1835. 
He  was  a  man  of  excellent  abilities,  and  in  an  obituarj'  notice 
published  in  the  ''Keligious  Monitor"'  he  was  pronounced  "an 
eloquent  and  faithful  and  unusually  successful  preacher  of 
('hrist's  gospel." 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARiiYLE.  181 

The  Rev.  Abraliiim  Anderson  \vas  the  next  }»astoi'  of  West 
Hebron,  and  held  the  position  longer  than  any  other  one  before 
or  since.  Dr.  Anderson  was  born  near  Newville,  Cumberland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  7th  of  December,  1789,  of  Irish 
parents  who  had  settled  there  but  a  few  months  previously. 
The  family  soon  moved  to  "Western  Pennsylvania,  wliere  he 
labored  upon  the  farm  until  after  liis  majority.  During  the 
war  with  England  he  served  for  a  year  under  General  TTarri- 
son,  after  which  he  comnienced  his  studies,  and  was  graduated 
at  Jefferson  College  in  1817.  He  spent  one  year  with  Dr.  John 
Anderson,  and  finished  his  theological  training  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Presbytery.  From  1818  to  1821,  he  was  Professor  of 
Languages  in  his  Alma  Mater.  These  three  years  must  have 
been  busy  ones,  for  during  them  he  taught  Latin  and  Greek  in 
Jefferson  College ;  studied  theology  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
I*resbytery,  and  also  prosecuted  a  course  of  medical  stud}'  un- 
der the  direction  of  Dr.  Letherman  which  made  him  a  respec- 
table physican.  He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers 
on  the  29th  of  August,  1821.  lie  was  sent  by  the  lS3aiod  to 
the  South,  and  in  September,  1822,  he  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled by  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas  as  pastor 
of  the  congregations  of  Steele  Creek  and  Bethany,  in  Meeklen- 
berg  county,  North  Carolina.  After  remaining  here  for  ten 
years  he  visite<l  the  north  in  the  spring  of  1832,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  healtli.  He  spent  much  of  the  summer  in  Hebron,  and 
after  his  return  home,  received  in  the  spring  of  1838,  a  call  to 
West  Hebron  which  he  accepted,  and  was  installed  as  pastor 
during  the  subsequent  summer. 

At  its  meeting  in  1847,  the  Associate  Synod  elected  Dr. 
A.  Anderson  to  the  Professorship  of  Didactic  and  i^olemic  The- 
olog}',  as  Dr.  Martin's  suceessf)r,  in  consequence  of  which  he 
resigned  the  pastoral  charge  of  this  congregation  on  the  8th  of 
the  following  September.  During  his  residence  at  C-anonsburg, 
in  addition  to  his  duties  in  the  Seminary,  he  was  collegiate 
l)astor  with  Dr.  Beveridgc^  of  Miller's  Run  congregation.  He 
died  oil  the  9th  of  May,  1855,  and  was  buried  beside  the  graves 
of  his  parents. 

Dr.  Anderson  was  large  and    massive   in   person,  calm  and 


132  HISTORY    OF    TUE 

deliberate  in  delivery.  His  voiee  was  feeble  and  he  eould  not 
raise  it  above  ji  conversational  tone,  but  so  clear  and  distinct 
that  he  coidd  l)c  easily  heard  by  ordinary  audiences.  His 
scholarship  covered  a  very  wide  rang-e,  embracing  theology, 
languages,  mathematic,  metaphysics,  natural  philosophy,  his- 
tory and  medicine,  and  was  much  at  home  amidst  the  details 
of  practical  life.  "ITis  sermons  were  sensible,  logical  and 
highly  evangelical,  and  better  fitted,  in  both  matter  and  man- 
ner, to  interest  and  edify  the  thoughtful  and  intelligent  hearer 
than  to  powerfully  impress  and  bear  away  the  multitude."  His 
memory  was  very  tenacious  in  reference  to  facts  and  ideas,  but 
very  deficient  as  to  the  language,  so  that  he  could  not  commit 
ii  sermon  in  nuich  less  time  than  a  week,  and  was  not  sure  of 
it  then.  He  was  consequentl_y  comi)elled  to  preach  from 
"sketches."  His  honesty  and  calm  practical  wisdom  gave  him 
great  infiuence  in  church  courts.  He  was  kind,  simple-hearted 
and  guileless  in  disposition,  grave  and  serious  in  manner,  and 
never  enthusiastic  or  demonstrative  in  any  thing.  An  humble, 
earnest,  patient  cliristian. 

In  March,  1848,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  James  Ballantine, 
which  resulted  in  his  ordination  and  installation  on  the  j9th 
of  the  following  vSeptember.  His  pastorate  was  very  short,  for 
he  died  on  the  24th  of  October,  1849.  He  was  born  in  county 
Antrim,  Ireland,  in  December,  1810,  and  in  1828  his  father 
moved  to  this  country  and  settled  in  or  near  Oanonsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  for  years  connected  with  the  Associate  Re- 
formed congregation  of  which  Mr.  ]SlcCahan  was  pastor.  He 
subsequently  united  with  the  Associate  Church,  and  was  edu- 
cated at  the  college  and  seminary  in  Canonsburg,  and  was 
licensed  by  the  Oliartiers  Presbytery,  on  the  loth  of  dune,  1847. 
He  was  regarded  as  a  good  jireacher,  and  was  very  much  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  his  own  Church. 

On  the  31st  of  October,  1858,  a  call  Avas  given  to  the  liev. 
Joseph  McKee,  who  was  under  appointment  as  a  missionary  to 
Oregon.  This  call  he  accepted,  and  he  was  installed  on  the  20th 
of  the  following  March.  Mr.  McKee  Avas  graduated  at  Frank- 
lin College  and  studied  theology  at  Canonsburg;  was  licensed  in 
1836,  and  was  ordained  by  the  Muskingum  Presbytery,  in  Sep- 


PRESI5YTERY    OF    AR(iYLE.  138 

teiuber,  1837.  He  resigned  the  charge  of  this  eoii2:regation  on 
tlic  1st  of  July.  1857,  and  is  now  teacliing  ut  Los  Angeles  in 
California.  On  the  7th  of  April,  1858,  a  call  was  given  to  ]\Ir. 
AV.  M.  Coleman,  which  he  declined. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1860,  Mr.  William  R.  McKee  accepted 
a  call  and  Avas  ordained  and  installed  on  the  4th  of  the  next 
September.  Mr.  McKee  was  born  in  Ohio  county,  "West  Vir- 
ginia, and  reared  in  Eastern  Ohio,  was  graduated  at  Franklin 
College  ;  studied  theology  at  Xenia,  and  was  licensed  b}'  the 
Wheeling  l*resbytery  on  the  19th  of  April,  1859.  He  resigned 
the  charge  of  this  congregation  on  the  3d  of  September,  1867, 
and  is  now  pastor  of  Robinson,  in  Washington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. On  the  7th  of  April,  1868,  the  present  pastor,  George 
M.  Wiley  was  installed.  He  was  born  in  Putnam  ;  graduated 
at  ITnion  College  ;  studied  theology  at  Princeton  ;  was  licensed 
May  6th,  1862,  b}'  the  Argyle  Presbytery,  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  at  Ryegate,  October  10th,  1863,  by  the  I'resbyter}- 
of  Vermont. 

On  the  14th  of  October,  1799,  the  congregation  met  at  the 
house  of  Andrew  Beveridge  to  take  measures  for  the  purchase 
of  a  lot  and  the  erection  of  a  meeting  house.  They  issued  an 
address  to  their  friends  and  well-wishers  asking  help,  and  John 
Williams,  of  Salem,  headed  their  subscription  paper  with  a 
contribution  of  the  seats,  the  pulpit  and  $50  in  money.  Some 
contributed  money,  others  gave  Iniilding  material,  and  others 
labor.  Fifty-six  contributed.  In  the  autumn  of  1801,  the 
trustees  were  directed  to  procure  boards  and  lath  to  complete 
the  inside  of  the  building,  and  in  1809  to  finish  the  gallery. 
This  building  gave  place  to  a  better  one  in  1831,  which  cost 
$1,624,  and  thepresentone  was  built  in  1859  at  acost  of  $3,200. 

As  John  Foster  and  William  MoncriefF,  sr.,  were  the  active 
and  leading  men  in  the  tirst  movements  towards  an  organiza- 
tion as  early  as  1784,  and  continued  as  the  leaders  for  eight  or 
ten  years  at  least,  the  presumption  is  that  they  were  the  first 
ruling  elders.  But  there  are  no  records  to  prove  this,  for  there 
are  no  records  back  of  1799.  It  is  believed  that  they  were 
two  of  Dr.  Clark's  original  elders,  and  refused  to  go  into  the 
union    of  1782.     The  first   elders    of  which  we  are  sure  were 


134  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Andrew  BeveridiJ-e,  ILiigli  Monci-iefi:'  and  William  McClellam 
and  the  date  of  their  ordination  is  not  known.  John  Moodic, 
James  Foster  and  James  Ciimmings  were  ordained  in  1813. 
John  Rea,  James  Reid  and  James  Robinson,  March  I'Jth,  1820. 
John  McClellan,  George  Boyd  and  William  Ashton,  April  23d, 
1835.  Andrew  Foster,  James  Kill  and  John  Beveridge,  dale 
of  ordination  not  given.  John  Armitage,  John  M.  Rea  and 
William  Reid,  in  1854.  Peter  McClellan,  John  A.  McKnight, 
James  F.  Randies  and  elanies  Beveridge,  April  24th,  1864. 

Hebron. 

Dr.  Clark  and  the  Rev.  J.  Proudfit  when  located  in  Salem, 
were  in  the  habit  of  holding  frequent  services  in  the  adjoining 
towns,  and  in  this  way  the  Scotch  and  Irish  settlers  in  Hebron 
received  all  the  preaching  with  wdiich  they  were  favored.  In 
1789,  T.  G.  Smith,  S.  Tomb,  and  J.  Bunlap,  were  licensed  by 
the  Associate  Reformed  Presbytery  of  Xew  York.  This  gave 
the  Presbytery  the  ability  to  supply  its  vacancies  and  outlying- 
stations.  Hebron  and  Argyle  w^ere  now  regarded  for  the  first 
time  by  Presbytery  as  preaching  stations.  At  a  meeting 
of  Presbyter}-  held  October  13th,  1789,  Hebron  petitioned 
for  supply,  and  Mr.  Dunlap  was  appointed  to  preach  there  on 
the  last  Sabbath  of  December,  and  the  first  of  the  following 
Januarj',  to  be  followed  by  Mr.  Tomb  for  the  month  of  ]SIarch. 
From  this  time  Presbytery  was  able  to  send  a  reasonable 
amount  of  su]>pl\-.  Petitions  were  received  by  Presbytery, 
May  3d,  1791,  from  "the  United  oongregation  of  Hebron  and 
Argyle,  praying  that  Presbytery  would  ratifj^  their  union,  into 
wdiich  they  had  entered,  and  that  they  might  be  known  hence- 
forth as  the 'United  Congregation  of  Hebron  and  Argyle.'" 
This  was  granted.  It  is  not  certain  when  the  church  Avas  for- 
mally organized  by  the  installation  of  ruling  elders.  It  may 
have  been  in  the  summer  of  1791,  and  it  may  not  have  been 
until  a  year  later. 

In  the  spring  of  1792,  apjilication  was  made  to  the  Associate 
Reformed  Presbytery  of  Xew  England,  for  assistance  to  su[)[>]y 
the  vacancies  of  the  I*resbytcry,  and  Andrew  Oliver,  proba- 
tioner, was  sent  during  the  summer,  and  was  assigned  to  Ileb- 


rUESBVTERY    (>F    AlKiYLE.  135- 

ron,  Argyle,  etc.  In  Se[»tomber,  the  Rev.  David  Annan  resigned 
his  charge  in  Ke\v  England,  and  also  cniiie  and  ])reached  \n 
Hebron  and  Argylc  till  November.  On  the  0th  of  Marcli, 
1793,  a  petition  was  signed  by  al)Out  tit'ty  male  members  and 
adherents  of  Hebron,  desiring  that  Mr.  Oliver  might  become 
the  pastor  of  Hebron  and  Argyle.  This  was  merely  an  infor- 
mal movement,  which  it  is  l^elieved  never  isened  in  a  regnlar 
call.  Mr.  Oliver  returned  home,  and  during  the  next  year  be- 
came pastor  of  the  church  in  Pelham,  Massachusetts.  In  1804, 
lie  returned  and  missionated  for  a  season  under  the  care  of  the 
Cambridge  Presbytery,  and  finally  settled  at  Springtield,  in 
Otsego  county. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1793,  the  Rev.  George  Mairs,  late 
pastor  of  the  Burgher  congregation  at  Coote  IRll,  county 
Cavan,  Ireland,  was  received  as  a  member  of  Presbytery.  On 
the  27th  of  Septem1)er,  tlie  united  congregation  of  Hebron  and 
Argyle  gave  him  a  call,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  installed 
on  the  13th  of  November,  1793.  The  installation  for  the 
nnited  charge  took  place  in  Argyle.  Mr.  Mairs'  pastorate  was 
so  successful  that  both  churches  soon  felt  able  and  willing  to 
support  separate  pastors,  and  on  the  16th  of  December,  1794, 
they  petitioned  Presbytery  to  "disjoin  them,"  and  allow  Mr. 
Mairs  to  remain  pastor  of  either.  He  elected  Argyle,  and  this 
left  Hebron  vacant. 

On  the  20th  of  September,  1797,  James  Gray,  probationer, 
was  received  from  the  Burgher  Presbyterj-  of  Armagh,  Ireland, 
<ind  on  the  11th  of  the  following  October,  received  and  accepted 
a  call  to  Hebron,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  16th 
of  the  following  May.  This  relation  was  dissolved  on  the 
2Gth  of  October,  1803,  in  consequence  of  his  acee[iting  a  call  to 
the  Spruce  street  congregation,  in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Gray  Wiis 
l)orn  December  25,  1770,  in  County  Monaghan,  in  Ireland  ; 
was  graduated  at  Glasgow  University;  studied  theology  with 
Dr.  John  Rogers,  of  Balliba^',  (Burgher),  and  was  licensed  in 
179(5.  He  remained  for  ten  or  twelve  years  in  Philadelphia, 
iind  then  removed  to  Baltimore,  where  he  taught  until  1823, 
when  he  retired  to  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  in 
the  family  of  his  step-son,  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  G.  McLean,  Septeni- 


lo()  HISTORY    OF    THE 

])er  20,  1824.  Jlewas  the  author  of  several  works  of  consider- 
able abilit}',  the  best  known  of  which  was  "-The  Priesthoods 
of  Melchisedec."   lie  was  a  most  thorough  and  finished  scholar. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1804,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev. 
Robert  Kerr,  late  pastor  of  the  church  in  Xewburgh.  This 
call  was  never  formally  jjresented,  for  the  (leneral  Synod  had 
just  sent  Mr.  Iverr  on  a  mission  to  the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas, 
but  he  wrote  to  the  session,  that  if  spared  to  return  to  the  north, 
during  the  following  year  he  would  accept  their  call.  It  was. 
however,  otherwise  ordered,  for  he  died  on  the  11th  of  June, 
1805,  in  Savannah,  Georgia.  In  March,  180G,  the  services  of 
Rev.  Alexander  Denham,  late  of  Ireland,  now  a  member  of  tlie 
I'resbytery  of  jSTew  York,  were  secured.  They  soon  Called  him, 
and  he  was  installed  as  pastor  on  the  23d  of  the  following 
October.  In  the  autumn  of  1823,  Mr.  Denham  resigned,  and 
moved  to  Xew  York.  A  year  afterwards,  at  the  solicitation  of 
a  large  number  of  the  congregation,  he  returned  and  preaclied 
for  them  during  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  they  gave  him  a 
call,  which  he  accepted  on  the  23d  of  May,  1825,  and  arrange- 
ments Avere  made  to  install  him  on  the  3d  of  ISTovember;  but 
when  Presbytery  met,  a  very  large  part  of  the  officers  and  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  remonstrated  against  his  settlement. 
His  installation  was  therefore  postponed;  Mr.  Denham  then 
returned  the  call,  and  went  back  to  New  York.  In  1827,  he 
united  with  the  Dutch  Church,  and  for  three  years  remained 
in  its  communion  without  any  charge,  and  then  gave  all  his 
time  to  secular  business.  He  died  in  1848,  aged  seventy-five 
years. 

In  matter,  method,  and  delivery,  he  was  above  the  average  as 
ji  preacher.  He  thought  too  much  of  the  world.  When  a 
young  parishioner,  the  late  Judge  Xelson  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  was  pursuing  his  ])reparatory  studies,  he 
advised  him  to  choose  the  law  instead  of  the  ministry,  because 
it  was  more  profitable.  In  his  old  days,  he  confessed  to  his 
former  fellow  presbyter,  D.  C.  McLaren,  that  his  riclies  did  not 
bring  happiness. 

In  October,  1826,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev.  James  McAule\' 
which  was  accepted,  and  he  was  installed  on  the  18th  of  April, 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGY]>E.  187 

1827.  His  pastorate  was  very  successfiil,  and  the  congregation 
parted  with  him  very  rehictaiitly,  wlien,  for  tlie  benefit  ot  a 
more  southern  elimate,  lie  resigned  August  the  25th,  1835. 
Air.  McAuIey  was  horn  in  Ireland ;  was  principally  educated 
there,  and  studitid  theology,  it  is  believed,  with  his  brother 
William,  in  Ivortright;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Saratoga,  1819  or  '20  ;  was  pastor  for  a  few  years  of  the  Pres- 
byterian congregation  in  Ogdensburg,  New  York.  After  leav- 
ing Hebron  he  settled  in  southern  Illinois;  returned  to  this 
Presbytery  in  1847,  and  settled  for  live  years  in  Lisbon,  New 
York  ;  retired  to  Ogdensburg,  and  resided  there  until  he  died. 
Mr.  McAuley  was  in  every  sense  a  good  preacher.  Ilis  voice 
was  deep  and  rich,  and  he  spoke  wntli  great  earnestness  and 
solemnity.  In  social  life  lie  w^as  aft'able  and  hospitable,  and 
always  serious. 

April  4,  1836,  the  Rev.  Jasper  Middlemass  was  called,  and 
oil  the  23d  of  June  installed.  His  pastorate  was  short  and 
lull  of  trouble.  In  about  eighteen  months,  the  session,  trustees, 
and  a  large  })art  of  the  congregation  petitioned  Presbytery  to 
dissolve  the  relation.  Presbytery  referred  it  to  a  ballot  of  the 
male  members  of  the  congregation,  when  twenty-four  voted 
for  his  remaining,  and  forty  for  his  resigning.  Mr.  Middlemass 
refused  and  a  trial  ensued  in  Presbytery  and  Synod ;  the 
particulars  of  which  will  be  found  in  (-hapter  IT.  of  this 
history.  The  relation  was  linally  dissolved  on  the  first  Mon- 
day of  October,  1838.  ]Mr.  Middlemass  was  born,  educated 
and  licensed  in  Scotland.  He  came  to  this  country  in  the 
spring  of  1838,  and  in  October  of  that  year  w^as  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Kew^  York,  ordained  and  installed  as  Mr.  George's  successor 
in  the  "White  Lake  congregation,  in  Sullivan  county.  But 
trouble  came,  and  in  June,  1835,  he  resigned.  After  leaving 
Hebron  he  Joined  the  Dutcli  Church,  and  was  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Blooming  Grove,  Rensselaer  county,  from  1840  to  "44, 
and  of  Berne  and  of  Salem,  Albany  county,  from  1848  to  1855, 
and  soon  afterAvards  died.  He  was  a  good  preacher,  hut  his  un- 
happy and  violent  temper  made  himself  and  all  around  him 
unt'omfortable. 

The  second  pastorate   of   Mr.   Denham   was  veiy   unfortu- 


138  lIISTOIiY    OF    THE 

nate.  Some  fort}-  nieiiibcrs  withdrew,  and  the  most  of  them 
united  with  the  Associate  congregation  of  West  Hebron.  In 
the  Middlemass  trouble  some  twentj-five  more  withdrew,  who 
for  a  season  received  some  supply  of  preaching  from  the  Pres- 
bytery, and  then  identified  themselves  with  the  dissenters  that 
left  the  West  Hebron  congregation,  and  together  organized  the 
"  Brick  Church  "  under  the  Builions  auspices,  which  soon  after- 
wards called  Mr.  Quackenl^ush.  These  troubles  and  secessions 
not  only  weakened  the  congregation  in  numbers,  but  excited 
considerable  ill-feeling  which  lasted  as  long  as  that  generation 
lived,  and  even  descended,  in  some  cases,  in  a  modified  form,  to 
their  children. 

In  February,  1839',  Mr.  Alexander  Shand  began  to  supi)ly 
in  Hebron  by  Synodic  appointment,  and  on  the  last  Monday  of 
May  a  call  was  made  out,  which  resulted  in  his  ordination  and 
installation  on  the  23d  of  the  following  July.  Mr.  Shand  was 
born,  educated  and  licensed  in  Scotland,  and  after  resigning  the 
charge  of  this  congregation  uS'ovember  1,  1850,  he  went  to 
Canada,  remained  two  or  three  years,  and  then  returned 
to  Scotland. '  lie  was  a  bachelor  possessing  some  oddities,  per- 
haps eccentricities,  but  a  good  scholar  and  an  instructive 
preacher,  although  somewhat  awkward  in  his  manner.  During 
his  ministry  the  congresation  enjoyed  peace,  and  was  reason- 
ably prosperous. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1852,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  George 
M.  McEachron,  which  he  declined.  On  the  loth  of  the  follow- 
ing November,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Kimball  received  a  call  which 
he  accepted,  and  was  installed  on  the  6th  of  Juno,  1853.  The 
■(.'ongregation  prospered  under  him  greatly,  and  it  was  with 
universal  regret  that  they  received  his  resignation  on  the  1st 
of  September,  1850.  He  was  born  in  I^^ewburgh,  New  York, 
in  1820;  was  educated  at  Union  College  and  the  Newburgh 
Seminary;  was  licensed  in  1842;  and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled as  pastor  of  Hamptonburg  May  31st,  1844,  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  York.  When  he  left  Hebron  he  became  for 
several  years  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Brock- 
port,  and  then  for  a  short  time  of  the  Dutch  Church  at  Fish- 
kill  Landing,  and  in  1805,  of  the  First  Dutch  congregation  in 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYLE.  loO 

Brooklyn.  While  preaching  an  historical  sermon  on  the  24th 
of  May,  1874,  he  was  taken  with  a  faintinoj  fit,  from  the  effects 
of  which  he  never  recovered,  and  died  on  the  6th  of  the  fol- 
linvini;-  Decend)cr.  He  was  tall  in  stature,  possessed  a  deep  rich 
voice  which  he  managed  with  considerable  skill,  had  a  good 
inuiirination  which  he  often  }>ermitted  to  play,  was  chaste  in 
style,  and  decidedly  a  popular  preacher.  His  social  fjualities 
were  also  excellent. 

On  the  23d  of  September,  1856,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev. 
John  Van  Eaton,  of  York,  which  was  declined.  On  the  23d  of 
January,  1857,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Gillespie  of 
Ilamptonburg,  which  he  accepted,  and  made  arrangements  for 
the  removal  of  his  family,  when  he  was  taken  ill  and  died 
upon  the  22d  of  April.  Mr.  Gillespie  was  born  of  Covenanter 
parentage,  on  the  9th  of  February,  1830,  on  the  Wallkill,  in 
Orange  county,  New  York ;  but  his  father  moved  into  the 
l)ounds  of  and  became  an  elder  in  the  congregation  at  Bloom- 
ingburg,  so  that  he  was  reared  mainly  under  the  ministry  of 
the  Rev.  Henry  Connelly  ;  he  was  graduated  at  Union  College; 
studied  theology  at  Newburgh  and  at  Due  West  in  South  Car- 
olina; was  licensed  May  19,  1852;  ordained  and  installed  at 
Ilamptonburg,  December  29,  1853.  He  was  a  young  man  of 
most  excellent  promise,  .because  of  his  fitness  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  and  his  devotion  to  the  canse. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  1858,  a  call  w\as  given  to  the  Rev. 
James  C.  Forsythe,  which  he  declined.  On  the  10th  of  the 
followino;  May,  Gilbert  Hamilton  Robertson  was  called,  an<l  on 
the  loth  of  July,  was  ordained  and  installed.  His  pastorate 
was  short,  for  he  resigned  on  the  28th  of  March,  1860.  He 
was  born  in  South  Argyle;  educated  at  Union  College  and 
Canonsburgh  Seminary;  was  licensed  October  22,  1855,  by  the 
Presbj-tery  of  Cambridge.  After  leaving  Hebron  he  was  for 
several  years  pastor  of  the  Dark  Presbyterian  congregation  of 
Troy,  and  then  ministered  in  Illinois  and  Kentucky.  He  Avas 
a  brilliant  and  attractive  preacher.  Eighty-six  united  with  the 
church  during  his  short  incumbency;  and  he  organized  the  iirst 
Sabbath  School,  as  the  congregation,  being  purely  country,  had 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE 

]ntliert(j  (lejiendc'd  upon  home  tmining,  wbicli  had  been  rigidly 
kept  up. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  18G0,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Isaac 
!N".  Wliite,  who  had  been  licensed  in  July,  1859  by  the  Char- 
tiers  Presbytery;  on  the  1st  of  January,  18G1,  he  accepted, 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  17th  of  Ma}'.  Ilis  short 
pastorate,  which  terminated  by  resignation  on  the  10th  of  No- 
vember, 1863,  was  prosperous.  lie  is  now  pastor  of  Fairview 
and  Washington  in  the  Presbytery  of  Muskingum. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  1864,  a  call  was  sustained  from  He- 
bron to  Mr.  A.  II.  Anderson,  which  was  declined.  On  the  14th 
of  November,  1865,  they  called  Mr.  W.  M.  Richie,  which  also 
liroved  unsuccessful.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1866,  Mr,  John  E. 
Fisher  accepted  a  call,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the 
14th  of  June.  This  relation  continued  until  the  17th  of  June, 
1874,  when  he  resigned  and  became  pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian congregation  of  Jersey  City.  ^Ir.  Fisher  was  born  in 
Cambridge,  and  educated  at  Williams  College  and  Princeton 
Seminary,  and  licensed  by  the  Pesbytery  of  Argyle  May  2d, 
1865.  He  was  a  popular  preacher  of  genial  disposition,  and 
the  congregation  grew  under  his  ministry. 

In  the  autumn  of  1874,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Thomas  Wylie 
who  had  studied  theology  at  Newburgh,  and  had  been  licensed 
a  few  months  previously.  He  accepted  and  was  ordained  and 
installed  on  the  26th  of  the  following  January.  In  less  than 
a  year  after  his  settlement  his  health  began  to  fail,  and  in 
March,  1876,  the  church  gave  him  an  extended  vacation  that 
he  might  seek  its  restoration.  Put  summer  .came  and  went 
and  there  was  no  improvement.  He  resigned  on  the  18tli  of 
September,  and  died  on  the  3d  of  April,  1877.  He  possessed 
great  zeal,  and  was  wholly  devoted  to  his  work,  and  gave 
bright  promise  of  usefulness  had  the  Lord  seen  lit  to  spare 
his  life. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1877,  an  unsuccessful  call  was  given  to 
the  Rev.  M.  S.  McCord.  On  the  4th  of  April,  1878,  a  call  was 
given  to  the  Rev.  John  Hood,  who  had  been  licensed  by  the 
Fraidcfort  Presbytery  in  1871,  and   oi'dained  and  installed  at 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARliVLi:.  141 

Burgettstowii,  A[»ril  Otli,  1872.  This  cull  was  ucccptcd,  and  lie 
was  installed  on  the  17th  of  May. 

This  congregation  was  incorporated  in  the  autumn  of  1791, 
as  "The  First  Presbyterian  Congregation  of  Hebron."  Its  first 
trustees  were  elected  December  13th,  1791,  and  were  Samuel 
Crosset,  Isaac  Lytic,  Isaac  Brinkerhotf,  Thomas  Mulhench, 
George  McKnight,  John  McDonald,  James  Flack,  AVilliam 
Lytic  and  Andrcw\I'roudfit.  They  immediately  purchased  the 
present  site,  and  built  their  first  meeting  house  in  1792.  This 
was  a  very  solid  frame  building,  forty-six  by  fifty-five  feet,  with 
a  gallery.  The  pews  were  boxes  six  by  seven  feet  with  seats 
around  three  sides.  It  was  paid  for  according  to  contract,  one 
part  in  money,  one  part  in  neat  cattle,  and  the  other  part  in 
r^-e  and  oats  delivered  at  the  mill.  This  house  served  its  pur- 
pose till  the  3'ear  1855,  when  it  was  replaced  by  the  present  one, 
not  because  it  Avas  decayed  or  worn-out  but  because  it  did  not 
possess  the  conveniences  and  comforts  wliich  the  taste  of  the 
present  day  demands.  They  purchased  at  the  same  time  a  glebe 
farm  which  has  been  sold  or  exchanged  two  or  three  times,  and 
finally  disposed  of  a  few  years  ago,  and  a  comfortable  parson- 
age property  procured  in  the  village  of  West  Hebron,  distant 
about  two  miles  from  the  meeting  house. 

There  is  no  known  record  to  sliow  the  date  of  the  election 
of  the  first  ruling  elders,  but  when  Mr.  Mairs  was  called  in 
Se[»tember,179o,  the  following  elders  signed  his  call,  viz:  Samuel 
C'rossett,  Charles  Hutchins  and  Alexander  McClelland.  In 
1794,  John  Wilson,  Isaac  Brinkerhoff,  James  Flack,  jr.,  Hugh 
Johnston,  John  ]S"elson  and  Bo^-d  Donaldson  were  added.  ,I)ur- 
ing  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Denham  (1800-1823),  the  following 
elders  wore  installed:  Samuel  Livingston,  John  Qua,  David 
Armstrong,  Robert  (}ua,  Samuel  Guthrie,  Andrew  (^ua  and  AVil- 
liam  Willet.  In  Xovember,  1834,  William  Armstrong,  William 
Gilchrist,  Charles  T.  Fullerton,  John  W.  Beattie  and  William 
McKnight,  were  elected.  In  1839  or  '40,  William  Barklej-  and 
James  McConnell  were  ordained.  In  June,  1857,  Xathaniel 
Reynolds  was  added.  In  iSTovember,  18(JG,  Alexander  McEaeli- 
ron,  Robert  Martin,  AV'illiam  Shields,  John  A.  McClellan  and 
Thomas  A.  McConnell.     In  January,  187(1,  Alexander  Gourley, 


142  HISTORY    OF    TUE 

Jolin  II.  Heynolds,  AVilliani  J.  Armstrong  and  William  Rob- 
inson. 

Arj«yk>. 
The  early  ecclesiastical  history  of  Areryle  is  very  similar  to 
that  of  Hebron,  with  which  it  was  for  a  number  of  years  as- 
sociated. It  was  to  a  certain  extent  a  preachintr  station  or 
missionary  field  under  the  care  of  Salem,  receiving  an  occasional 
visit  and  day's  preaching  from  Dr.  Clark  and  the  Rev.  James 
J^roudfit.  The  Presbytery  did  not  and  could  not  make  any 
provision  for  it,  as  there  was  neither  probationer  nor  unsettled 
minister  at  their  disposal.  The  licensure  of  Smith,  Tomb  and 
Dunlap  in  1789  gave  to  Presbytery  the  means  of  looking  after 
destitute  places.  At  a  meeting  held  in  ^STew  York,  October  13, 
1789,  Mr.  Tomb  was  appointed  to  preach  in  Argyle  on  the  fourth 
Sabbath  of  December,  and  on  the  first  of  the  following  Janu- 
ary. This  was  the  first  recognition  of  Argyle  l)y  Presbytery. 
At  every  subsequent  meeting  more  or  less  provision  was  made 
for  its  supply,  and  when  Mr.  Smith  settled  in  Orange  county 
and  Mr.  Dunla[)  in  Cambridge,  application  for  assistance  was 
made  to  the  Presbyterj'  of  New  England,  and  Mr.  Oliver  and 
Rev.  D.  Annan  came  in,  both  of  whom  supplied  in  Argyle. 
On  the  3d  of  May,  1791,  Hebron  and  Argyle  were  formally 
united  by  the  Presbytery  into  a  united  charge;  and  in  March, 
1793,  they  petitioned  for  the  services  of  Mr.  Oliver  in  view  of 
settling  him.  But  Mr.  Oliver  was  so  nearly  blind  at  this  time 
from  an  over  use  or  abuse  of  his  eyes  in  studying  that  he  was 
compelled  to  employ  a  boy  to  guide  him  in  his  missionary 
labors,  and  discouraged  any  movement  towards  his  settlement. 
On  the  4th  of  Sej^tember,  1792,  the  congregation  petitioned 
Presbytery  for  a  moderator  that  they  might  choose  elders  and 
liave  them  ordained.  This  was  granted  and  Mr.  Proudfit  was 
directed  to  preach  in  Argyle  on  the  1st  Tuesday  of  October  and 
with  a  session  from  Salem  and  Hebron  to  examine  and  ordain 
the  elders  chosen.  Mr.  Proudfit  fulfilled  his  appointment,  and 
Presbytery  at  its  meeting  in  Cambridge,  ISTovember  13,  1792, 
ordered  that  the  second  Wednesday  of  December  be  observed 
in  Argjdc  as  a  day  of  fasting,  and  that  the  chosen  elders  should 
be  on  that  day  ordained  and  installed.     There  is  a  tradition  in 


PRESBVTERY    OF    AlKn'LE.  14^ 

AriTvle  tliat  they  were  ordained  and  installed  by  Mr.  Duidapou 
the  IHtli  day  of  December.  A  little  time  })revions  to  this  tbey 
bad  built  their  first  meetinoj  bouse,  on  land  belonging  to  Dou- 
gall  McKallor  nearly  a  mile  south  of  the  present  village  and 
close  to  the  old  cemetery.  After  their  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion, they  applied  to  the  Legislature  and  obtainc(l  a  charter 
under  the  title  of  "The  First  Incorporated  C-ongregation  of 
Argyle,  under  the  care  of  the  Associate  Reforined  Synod."' 

It  has  already  been  stated  in  the  sketch  of  Hebron,  that  the 
Rev.  George  Mairs  was  installed  on  the  13tli  of  November^ 
1793,  as  pastor  of  Hebron  and  Argyle,  giving  half  of  his  time 
to  each.  The  rrieeting  houses  were  about  eight  miles  distant 
from  each  other.  Botli  congregations  grew  rapidly,  and  on  the 
16th  of  December,  1794,  they  petitioned  Presbytery  to  "disjoin 
them,''  and  to  permit  Mr.  Mairs  to  elect  the  congregation  witli 
which  he  will  remain  as  pastor.  He  chose  Argyle,  and  hence- 
forth all  his  time  and  labor  were  given  to  it. 

Mr.  Mairs  w^as  born  in  April,  1761,  at  Drumbeg,  Monaghaii 
county,  Ireland;  graduatetl  at  Glasgow  University;  studied 
theology  with  John  Brown,  of  Haddington  ;  w^as  licensed  by  a 
l>urgher  J^resbytery  in  Ireland;  was  ordained  and  installed  over 
the  Associate  Congregation  of  Coote  Hill,  in  the  county  of 
Cavan.  After  laboring  here  for  several  years  he  resigned,  May 
'2(1,  1793,  sailed  for  I^ew  York,  where  he  arrived  about  the  1st 
of  August,  went  the  next  week  to  AVashington  county  and 
settled  for  life.  The  congregation  in  Argyle  grew  with  w^onderful 
rapidity  under  his  ministry,  as  many  as  forty  members  Avere 
repeatedly  added  at  a  single  communion,  so  that  in  1802  it  re- 
ported a  mend)ership  of  four  liundred  and  fifty-two.  Their 
meeting  house  became  over  crowded,  so  that  in  1801  the\'  built 
a  larger  frame  house,  forty-five  by  sixty  feet,  upon  the  site  now 
occupied.  Just  at  this  time  they  came  in  possession  of  tlieir 
share  of  the  glebe  reservation  of  the  Argyle  I'atent,  (see  sketch 
of  South  Argyle).  This  they  sold  and  apjdied  the  proceeds  to 
the  benetit  of  the  Society. 

The  congregation  covered  a  large  territory,  much  of  wdiicli 
was  hilly  and  all  of  it  was  destitute  of  good  roads.  Mr.  Mairs 
during  onedialf  of  every  year  visited  and  catechised  every 


144  HISTORY    OF    THE 

famil}',  iind  during  tlic  other  half  lield  diets  for  catechisiiiii:  in 
the  different  neighl)orhoodr5.  This  witli  a  faithful  visitation 
of  the  sick  and  of  the  troubled,  imposed  an  immense  amount 
of  labor  upon  him;  too  much  for  the  growing  infirmities  of 
his  declining  3'ears,  and  he  spoke  to  liis  people  upon  the  neces- 
sity of  an  assistant.  They  saw  and  appreciated  the  ditficulties 
of  his  situation,  and  out  of  the  love  which  they  bore  him,  were 
willing  to  be  guided  by  his  wishes,  I  lis  son  George  had  just 
entered  the  ministry  and  it  was  natural  that  he  should  turn  to 
him  for  assistance.  George  Mairs,  jr.,  was  born  iri  Arg3de  in 
March,  1798  ;  was  graduated  at  Union  College  in  1820  ;  (^.tudied 
theology  with  Dr.  Mason  until  the  seminary  closed,  and  then 
finished  with  his  father  ;  was  licensed  March  5th,  1823,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed,  on  the  3d  of  September  following,  as 
the  assistant  and  successor  of  his  father. 

The  elder  flairs  for  some  years  divided  the  pastoral  labor 
with  his  son,  and  took  the  morning  servi(;e  upon  the  Sabb;itli. 
But  as  his  pliysical  infirmities  increased,  his  public  labors  de- 
creased until  the  explanation  of  a  Psalm  or  the  ofteri ng  of  a 
prayer  was  all  that  he  could  accom[)lish.  lie  finally  lapsed  into 
his  second  childhood  and  was  confined  to  his  home  for  a  year 
or  two,  and  died  on  the  10th  of  October,  1841.  lie  was  not 
wliat  the  world  would  call  a  great  preacher,  and  yet  he  was  in 
reality  a  great  teacher.  His  sermons  were  always  instructive, 
scriptural  and  plain,  so  that  his  hearers  could  understand  and 
appreciate  and  remember  the  truths  enunciated.  He  explained 
the  first Tsalm  sung  in  the  morning  service,  and  this  was  always 
rich.  In  this  explanation  and  addressing  a  communion  table, 
he  had  no  superior,  perhaps  no  erj^ual  in  his  Church.  He  was 
social,  wise  and  sympathetic,  and  became  the  confident  and  ad- 
visor of  all  his  jieople,  and  his  congregation  was  a  model  of 
harmony  and  peaceableness. 

The  son  modeled  after  the  tather  and  tried  to  carry  out  his 
ways  and  measures  as  far  as  the  changing  circumstances  of  the 
times  and  people  would  allow.  His  pastorate  was  also  success- 
ful. Peace  and  brotherly  love  continued.  He  was  diligent  in 
ins  pastoral  labors,  and  was  much  among  his  people.  Worn 
and  fatigued  with  the  exactions  of  his  office,  he  resigue  1  his 


I'RESIJYTKRY    i)F    AKilVLE.  14') 

pastoral  relation  on  the  10th  of  June,  1851,  and  has  ever  si  nee 
resided  iii  Arg3le,  whieh  has  been  the  one  home  of  his  life. 
The  cono-regatioii  at  this  time  numbered  aboutfour  hundred  com- 
municants. During  Mr.  Mairs'  incumbency  a  congregational 
prayer  meeting  during  the  week  was  established.  In  the  spring 
of  1844,  they  took  down  the  old  church  building  and  com- 
menced the  erection  of  a  larger  and  better  one.  They  had  it  u}» 
and  inclosed,  when  the  ignition  of  a  lire  cracker  on  the  4tn  of 
fluly  set  it  on  lire  and  burned  it  up.  They  immediately  com- 
menced another,  which  was  linished  and  occupied  during  tlie 
•summer  of  1845. 

Uu  the  24th  of  Xovember,  1851,  a  call  was  o-iven  to  tlie  Rev. 
James  B.  Scouller,  of  Cuylerville,  Xew  York.  This  call  he 
accepted  and  commenced  his  ministrations  during  the  following 
spring,  and  was  installed  on  the  olst  of  Ma}-,  1852.  lie  insti- 
tuted a  Sabbath  school  and  Bible  class  which  continued  during 
the  greater  portion  of  his  pastorate.  Ilis  custom  was  to  give 
an  expository  lecture  in  the  forenoon  of  the  Sabbath  and  a  ser- 
mon in  the  afternoon.  In  this  way,  commencing  Avith  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  he  went  through  with  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  New  Testament,  and  with  the  Gospels,  according 
to  Robinson's  Harmony,  during  his  ])astorate.  The  congrega- 
tion for  two  or  three  years  grew  rapidly,  until  it  numbered  four 
hundred  and  ninety  members,  when  western  emigration  de- 
creased it  sonu,'.  During  his  incumbency  two  hundred  and 
eighty  united  with  the  church,  and  througliout  liis  ministry 
and  the  ministry  of  the  Mairses,  a  communion  season  never 
passed  without  accessions,  except  one  in  180G.  This  it  is  be- 
lieved is  also  true  of  the  succeeding  pastorates,  for  the  growth  of 
this  church  has  always  been  steady  and  not  s})asmodic.  Mr. 
Scouller  was  born  near  Xewville,  Pennsylvania,  July  12,  1820  ; 
was  graduated  at  Dickinson  College  in  1889;  studied  theology 
in  the  Allegheny  Seminary ;  was  licensed  by  the  Big  Spring 
Presbytery  April  li),  1842;  was  ordained  and  installed  by  the 
New  York  Presbytery,  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Associate  Re- 
formed congregati(ni  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  13tli  of  November, 
1844,  and  was  transferred  to  the  i>astorate  of  Cuylerville  church 
in  January,  1847.  During  the  last  two  years  of  his  residence 
10 


14G  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  Aro;ylo  liis  iiiinistrations  were  larcrely  interrupted  by  ill- 
liealtb,  so  that  he  resigned  ^larch  31,  1862,  and  is  now  infirm 
and  resides  at  ISTewville,  Penns3dvania. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1862,  a  call  was  made  uot  for  Mr.  David 
M.  Ure,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  on 
the  8th  of  October.  The  order  of  exercises  on  the  Sabbath 
now  was  a  sermon  in  the  morning  and  Sabbath  school  in  tlle^ 
afternoon.  Mr.  Ure  was  born  in  Scotland  ;  was  graduated  at 
Miami  Fniversity  and  studied  theology  in  Allegheny,  and  was 
licensed  April  9th,  1861,  by  the  Monongahela  rresbytcry.  His 
ministry  here  was  reasonably  successful,  and  one  liundred  an<l 
ninety-six  were  added  to  the  church,  ^ear  the  end  of  liis  pas- 
torate offence  must  needs  come,  which  resulted  in  several  cases 
of  discipline  VN'liich,  for  a  time,  greatly  distracted  the  congre- 
gation, and  caused  a  secession  which  became  in  part  the  nucleus 
of  a  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  mendjership  ran  down  to 
three  hundred  and  seventy.  He  resigned  the  charge  February 
1st,  1872,  and  is  now  General  Agent  for  Monmouth  College. 

On  the  ITth  of  May,  1873,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  W.  l\ 
Kane,  which  he  accepted,  and  commenced  his  ministrations 
Se}itember  21st,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  Xovember  20th, 
1873.  Mr.  Kane  is  a  native  of  eastern  Ohio  ;  was  graduated  at 
AVestminster  College  ;  studied  theology  at  Is cw burgh  ;  was  li- 
censed September  10th,  1872,  by  the  ]''resl)ytery  of  Steul)en- 
ville.  The  congregation  has  ])ros}»ercd  under  his  ministry,  and 
the  membershi})  had  risen  t(.)  four  hundred  and  fifty-four  in 
1879.  A  new  brick  church,  built  upon  the  site  of  the  three 
})receding  ones,  was  entered  and  occupied  in  July,  1876,  It  is 
of  Gothic  architecture,  65  by  llo  feet  on  the  ground,  with  a- 
spire  130  feet  high,  and  cost  over  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

During  the  incumbency  of  each  one  of  the  pastors,  there  was 
at  least  one  revival  season,  when  from  thirty  to  sixty  were 
added  to  the  membership.  Tliese  were  always  characterized 
Avith  deep  earnestness  and  much  fervent  pi'ayer.  The  daily 
public  meetings,  held  sometimes  for  weeks,  were  free  from  all 
excitement.  An  increased  solemnity  and  fervor  marked  the 
special  presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit. 

The  first  ruling  elders,  ordained  on  the  second  Wednesday  of 


PRESBYTERY    OF    AR(;YLR.  147 

December,  1792,  were,  Ebenezer  Clark  (son  ot'  J)r.  Clark  of 
Salem),  James  Batty,  and  Alexander  Cowan.  On  the  13tli  of 
Ajiril,  1794,  Xeal  McKacliron,  and  James  Gillis.  In  the  sprinf^ 
of  1795,  John  McDongall,  James  Lytle,  and  Samuel  McFad- 
den.  In  April,  179S,  William  McCoy,  Nicholas  Mills,  and 
Alexander  McDougall.  In  1801,  Archibald  Stewart  was  in- 
stalled, and  in  1802,  Archibald  Gillis  was  ordained  and  installed. 
In  December,  1808,  John  Robinson,  Edward  Riggs,  Philip  Mc- 
Eachron,  and  John  Lester.  In  June,  1817,  Alexander  McDou- 
gall, Archibald  Crawford,  and  Gordon  Bull.  In  the  s[)ring  of 
1823,  John  McCoy.  In  the  year  1828,  John  Beatty,and  James 
Barkley.  In  the  summer  of  1831,  Thomas  McFadden,  John 
(iraham,  George  Ilarsha,  and  Anthony  McKallor.  In  the 
winter  of  1842,  James  Tilford,  James  Stevenson,  John  W. 
Flack,  David  Robertson,  James  B.  Taylor,  Archibald  M.  Rowan, 
Alexander  P.  Robinson,  Edward  Riggs,  and  Cornelius  McEach- 
ron.  On  the  8th  of  April,  1866,  John  Armitage,  David  Ilall, 
Dr.  James  Savage,  James  Stott,  and  William  McMurray.  On 
the  17th  of  May,  1879,  Dr.  John  C.  Sill,  Dr.  John  Gilchrist, 
George  Todd,  Albert  AVilliams,  James  R.  McFadden,  and  Wil- 
liam Doig. 

Putnam. 

It  is  believed  that  public  religious  services,  under  the  aus}»i- 
ces  of  the  Associate  Church,  were  lirst  held  in  l*utnam,  or 
llutton's  Bush,  as  then  called,  in  1798;  and  the  probabilities 
are  that  the  Rev.  Archibald  Whyte  was  the  preacher.  He 
lived  in  Argyle  without  a  charge,  and  was  performing  mis- 
sionary labor  under  the  direction  of  his  Presbytery.  A  church 
waiS  formally  organized  in  1803,  at  William  llutton's  house, 
situated  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  about  a  half-mife 
east  of  the  site  of  the  present  meeting  house.  Mr.  Whyte 
and  the  Rev.  Robert  Laing  officiated  on  this  occasion.  Mr. 
I^aing  belonged  to  the  Cliartiers  Presbyter}-,  but  was  now  in 
Cambridge,  as  a  commissioner  to  settle  a  local  difficulty  which 
had  been  twice  to  the  Synod.  The  number  of  members  recog- 
nized was  about  twenty,  and  they  were  all  natives  of  Scotland. 
their  first  church  edifice  was  of  frame,  twenty-four  by  thirty- 


148  illSTORY    UF    TllK 

two  feet  on  the  ground,  and  was  erected  in  1806,  although  not 
entirely  completed  before  1S17,  and  cost  about  three  hundred 
'  and  fifty  dollars. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1810,  rutnani  and  West  Hebron 
were  united  by  Presbytery  into  a  pastoral  charge,  and  in  April 
following,  they  gave  a  call  to  Mr.  David  French,  who  had  been 
licensed  by  the  Presbytery  in  the  previous  Xovember.  He  de- 
clined the  call,  and  settled  in  Mr.  Laing's  late  charge  at  Buffalo, 
in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  August,1819,the  Rev. 
James  Millar  united  with  the  Presbytery,  and  on  the  13th  of 
September,  received  a  call  from  the  congregation  in  Putnam, 
and  was  installed  over  it  on  the  4th  of  ^N^ovember.  They 
promised  him  $400  annually,  a  free  house  and  garden,  fire- 
wood, and  the  keeping  of  a  cow.  Under  his  ministrj'the  con- 
gregation grew,  until  the  14th  of  September,  1825,  Avhen  a 
charge  was  preferred  against  him  of  a  gross  Ijreach  of  the  Seventh 
Precept  of  the  Decalogue.  The  investigation  was  postponed 
until  the  1st  of  the  following  February,  when,  at  the  request 
of  the  congregation,  his  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  upon 
the  ground  thjit  his  usefulness  there  was  ended.  llis  case 
was  referred  to  Synod,  which  at  its  meeting  in  October,  1826, 
found  him  guilty,  and  deposed  him  from  the  ministry.  He 
was  born,  educated,  and  ordained  in  Scotland,  came  to  this 
country  in  1818,  and  first  united  with  the  I'resbyter}- of  Phila- 
delphia. He  was  a  man  of  good  scholarship,  affable  manners, 
and  undoubted  ability  as  a  preacher.  His  subsequent  history 
is  not  known. 

At  a  meeting  of  Presbytery,  May  7th,  1828,  a  call  w^as  })re- 
sented  to  the  Hev.  Alexander  (lordon.  He  accepted,  and  was 
installed  on  the  2d  of  July.  He  resigned  August  3d,  1842, 
He  was  born  in  Montrose,  Scotland,  in  1789  ;  was  educated  at 
Edinburgh  University  ;  studied  theology  with  Professor  Pax- 
ton  ;  was  licensed  Juno  25,  1817,  and  sailed  four  weeks  after- 
ward, in  company  with  the  Pev.  Peter  Bullions,  for  this 
country;  was  ordained,  August  20,  1818,  and  installed  in 
Guinston,  York  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  resigned  this  charge 
October  20th,  1825.  After  leaving  Putnam  he  became  pastor 
at  Johnstown,  where  he  died  from  an  attack  of  cholera  mor- 


PRESBYTERY    OF    ARGYI.E.  149 

bus,  August  20th,  1845.  lie  was  a  lair  preacher,  and  rather  a 
superior  writer.  Tie  was  of  a  melancholy  temperament,  and 
while  at  Guinston  had  a  sunstroke, from  the  effects  of  which  his 
nervous  system  never  wholly  recovered.  He  thus  described 
the  consequences:  "jS'ow,  all  my  boldness  left  me,  and  a  con- 
tinual fear  of  losino;  my  recollection,  and  of  falling  through 
my  discourse,  succeeded  it.  If  I  had  t(^  stand  in  a  liigh  pulpit, 
my  giddiness  and  fear  of  falling  into  confusion  increased.  My 
distress  in  this  way  has,  hundreds  of  times,  been  indescribable, 
and  as  often,  upon  mere  human  principles,  insupportable.  When 
the  hour  for  commencing  jmblic  worship  was  announced,  it 
would  make  me  quake  from  head  to  foot.  I  have  often  as- 
cended the  pulpit  like  one  going  to  execution,  and  often  could 
not  hold  up  the  I'salm  book  for  trepidation  ;  a  strange  face  in 
the  audience  would  iill  me  with  confusion." 

Unsuccessful  calls  were  given  October  8,  1844,  to  Jacob 
Fisher;  in  May  1846,  to  Alexander  Story;  and  in  January 
1847,  to  Joseph  J).  Wolf.  On'  the  21st  of  April,  1847,  a  call 
was  given  to  the  Rev.  Isaac  Law,  which  he  accepted  on  the  7th 
of  July,  and  was  installed  on  the  7th  of  October.  He  remained 
here  usefully  and  greatl}'  beloved  until  his  death,  which  took 
place  January  28th,  1861.  lie  was  born  in  Salem,  September 
od,  181.5  ;  was  educated  at  Union  College  and  Canonsburg  Sem- 
inary ;  was  licensed  June  26th,  1840,  and  ordained  January 
27th,  1842.  He  spent  several  years  as  stated  supply  in  Canada 
East.  He  was  a  fair  preacher,  a  pleasant  man,  an  industrious 
pastor,  and  an  earnest  and  consistent  christian.  During  his 
ministry  in  1857,  the  present  church  editice  was  built  at  an  ex- 
pense of  about  $5,000.  A  previous  brick  one  had  been  built 
in  1838.  At  his  death  the  congregation  contained  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  members. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  1862,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Lawrence,  which  was  accepted,  and  an  the  iirst  Sabbath  of 
Jnh"  he  commenced  his  labors  here,  and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  8th  of  September.  He  resigned  on  the  18th  of 
June,  1867,  united  with  tlie  Presbyterian  Church,  and  is  now 
a  Professor  in  the  Biddle  Institute  in  Xorth  Carolina.  lie  was 
reared  in  Allegheny  City;  was  educated   at  the  Western  Uni- 


150  HISTORY    OF    THE 

versity  and  the  Allegheny  Seminary.  When  he  left  the  mem- 
bership numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1868,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Samuel 
Bigger,  which  he  accepted.  Tie  entered  upon  his  pastoral 
labors  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  July,  and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  29th  of  September,  and  is  still  in  charge,  lie 
was  born  at  Bavington,  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania, 
April  7th,  1842;  was  graduated  at  Westminster  College; 
studied  theology  at  Xenia  and  Monmouth ;  was  licensed  April 
4th,  1866,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Monmouth. 

The  town  of  Putnam  is  so  hemmed  in  between  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  Lake  George  that  it  never  can  become  very  populous, 
and  there  is  no  material  for  a  very  large  expansion  of  the  con- 
gregation.    The  population  is  moral  and  thrifty. 

The  ruling  elders  installed  at  the  organization  in  1803,  were 
John  Gourlie,  William  Shiell  and  Alexander  McLachlan.  In 
April,  1823,  Adam  Darling,  John  W.  Graham  and  Robert 
Shiell  were  added.  In  June,  1835,  Joseph  Thompson  and 
James  Barnett.  In  January,  1848,  John  Gourlie,  James  Cum- 
mings,  James  McLaughlin,  Robert  Simpson  and  Joseph  Thomp- 
son. On  the  29th  of  April,  1852,  William  Anderson  and 
Thomas  Leidgervvood.  On  October  13th,  1864,  John  Lillie, 
and  on  the  25th  of  May,  1865,  William  C.  Corbet.  On  the  6th 
of  January,  1876,  John  Graham,  AVilliam  B.  McLaughlin  and 
John  Simpson. 

The  deacons  of  the  congregation,  are  John  Ilennesy,  William 
Graham  and  Thomas  Lillie,  ordained  and  installed  January 
6th,  1876. 

East  Salem. 

On  the  6tli  of  June,  1820.  the  families  of  the  congregation 
of  Cambridge  which  resided  in  the  town  of  Salem,  were  at 
their  own  request  erected  by  the  Presbj'tery  into  an  indepen- 
dent congregation,  which  organized  as  the  "First  Associate 
Congregation  of  Salem."  The  original  members  were  Robert 
S.  Law,  Anna  Law,  John  Law,  Elizabeth  Law,  Thomas  Law, 
Mary  Law,  Robert  T.  Law,  John  T.  Law,  Ephraim  Edie,  Jenette 
Edie,  David  French,  Elizabeth  French,  Robert  Irvine  and  wife, 


I'RESBVTEKV    OF    AUGVI-E.  151 

William  Fenwiek,  .lenette  Fenwick,  John  Gralmm  and  wife, 
Mary  McCulIoch  and  Alexander  \Yrig1it.     In  all  tvvent}-. 

On  the  first  Wednesday  of  March,  1825,  they  gave  a  call  to 
Mr.  James  White,  and  although  he  liad  at  the  same  time  a  call 
from  South  Argyle  and  another  from  ]3altimore,  both  of  which 
were  more  desirable,  yet  he  accei)ted  the  one  from  Salem,  and 
was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  Gth  of  the  following  July. 
Ilis  pastorate  was  short  but  very  successful,  and  the  memory  of 
it  lingers  sweetly  in  the  community  until  the  i)resent  day.  He 
died  on  the  13th  of  December,  1827,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty- 
three.  He  was  born  in  Muthill,  Perthshire,  Scotland,  in  the 
year  1794.  He  was  reared  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev. 
Muckersie,  the  author  of  a  well-known  catechism ;  was  grad- 
uated at  Glasgow  University;  studied  theology  with  Professor 
Paxton  in  Edinburgh,  and  was  licensed  in  the  spring  of  1819, 
l)y  the  Presbytery  of  Sterling.  His  preaching  was  very  poji- 
ular,  so  that  during  the  five  years  he  remained  in  Scotland  he 
received  thirteen  calls,  one  of  which  was  from  Dunfermline 
where  Ralph  Erskine  had  preached.  He  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  union  of  1820,  and  left  the  United  Secession  Church 
aiid  joined  the  I'axton  party.  Soon  afterward  he  sailed  for 
this  country  and  landed  in  iS'ew  York  in  October,  1824.  He 
was  rather  short  and  thick-set,  with  light  complexion  and  light 
hair.  In  disposition  he  was  amiable,  unassuming,  and  benev- 
olent; and  in  manners  quiet  and  gentle.  As  a  preacher  he  was 
gifted  in  no  common  degree.  His  sermons  were  written  with 
great  care,  and  in  a  stylo  of  uncommon  grifce  and  beaut\',  and 
were  of  a  dee}»  evangelical  type ;  and  were  delivered  in  that 
simple,  earnest,  everdjeseeching  manner  that  drew  his  audience 
to  him  by  an  irresistible  influence.  He  had  a  marked  predi- 
lection for  the  descriptive  kind  of  preaching,  and  possessed  re- 
markable graphic  power.  He  infused  into  his  characters  so 
much  life,  and  threw  around  them  such  a  charm  that  the  cflect 
upon  his  audience  was  sometimes  very  great.  After  his  death 
a  volume  of  his  sermons  was  pul)lished  in  this  country  and  re- 
published in  Scotland. 

During  the  w^inter  of  1831  and  '2,  a  call  was  made  out  for 
JNlr.  David  Gordon,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  ordained  and 


152  HISTORY    OF    THK 

installed  on  tlio  2d  of  Miiy,  1732.  Mr.  Gordon  was  born  in 
Montrose,  in  Scotland,  and  came  to  this  country  in  1817,  in 
company  with  his  brother,  Alexander.  He  studied  theolocjy 
with  Dr.  Alexander  Bullions,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Cambridge  in  June,  1830.  He  resigned  his  charge  of 
East  Salem  on  the  20th  of  June,  1843,  and  soon  afterwards 
went  as  a  missionarj^  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  to  which  he  had 
been  appointed  l)y  Synod.  His  missionary  career  was  short,  for 
on  the  24tli  of  December,  ISll,  iie  was  taken  ill  of  a  fever. 
which  ran  its  course  rapidly,  and  he  died  on  the  oOtli  instant. 
His  remains  were  interred  on  the  3d  of  January,  1845,  in  the 
rear  of  the  mission  church.  The  late  Rev.  Joseph  Banks,  who 
was  with  him  at  the  time,  said  in  a  letter  to  the  board  :  "Death 
appeared  to  liim  not  only  welcome  but  desirable.  The  desire  to 
depart  and  be  with  Christ  manifested  itself  in  all  that  he  said  and 
did.'"'  Dr.  Cooper  says  that  "-Mr.  Gordon  was  an  agreeable  talker, 
always  manifestinga  disposition  to  engage  in  conversation  and 
seasoning  it  to  a  very  considerable  degree  with  the  spice  of  wit. 
As  a  preacher  he  never  attained  the  reputation  of  his  brother 
Alexander.  His  thoughts,  however,  were  scriptural  and  edify- 
ing, methodically  arranged,  and  clearly  and  earnestly  expressed. 
In  his  delivery  he  lacked,  to  some  degree,  tlie  graces  of  oratory,'' 
On  the  9th  of  May,  1844,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Jacob 
Fisher,  which  he  declined.  In  jSTovember,  1845,  another  call 
w\as  given  to  Mr.  Samuel  F.  Morrow,  which  w^as  also  declined. 
On  the  11th  of  February,  1847,  they  called  Mr.  David  Wishart 
French,  and  he  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  8th  of  Se}>- 
tember.  Dr.  French  was  the  son  of  Rev.  David  French,  of 
I*^orth  Buffalo,  Pennsylvania,  and  grandson  of  David  French , 
one  of  the  founders  of  tliis  congregation.  He  was  l)orn  in 
AVashington  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  the  20th  1818;  was 
graduated  at  Washington  College;  studied  theology  at  Can- 
onsburg  ;  was  licensed  June  the  16th,  184(3,  by  the  Chartiers 
l^resbj'tery.  He  resigned  his  charge  of  this  congregation  on 
the  28th  of  March,  1855,  and  was  soon  afterward  settled  at 
Mercer,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  suddenly  on  the  IGth 
of  March,  1875,  He  was  held  in  high  esteem,  both  as  a  man 
and  as  a  minister. 


PREt^BYTEKY    OF    ARC  Y  I.E.  15:> 

III  January,  1857,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  -John  13.  Dunn, 
whicli  was  declined.  On  the  7th  of  April,  1858,  a  call  wa^^ 
given  to  the  Rev.  Hugh  Brown,  wdiich  w^as  accepted,  and  he 
was  installed  on  the  4th  of  the  following  May.  Mr.  ]5rown 
was  born  in  Guiness,  county  Down,  Ireland,  May  0th,  1810  ; 
was  graduated  at  Beltast  College ;  studied  theology  in  Glas- 
gow, Scotland,  and  was  licensed  by  the  <  Hasgow  Presbytery  of 
Original  Burgher  Seceders ;  was  transferred  to  the  I'rosbytery 
of  Belfast,  and  by  it  ordained  over  tlie  congi-egation  of  Garry- 
dufF,  and  ministered  for  some  time  to  a  congregation  in  Spencer- 
ville,  Canada  West.  He  resigned  the  charge  of  East  Salem  on 
the  7tli  of  May,  1867,  and  took  a  pastoral  charge  in  the  Pres- 
l)yterian  church  from  which  he  lately  retired,  having  become 
totally  blind,  and  now  lives  in  a  feeble  condition  within  the 
bounds  of  tliis  congregation. 

On  the  22d  of  June,' 1809,  Mr.  J.  B.  Clapperton  was  ordained 
and  installed.  He  was  born  at  Cabin  Hill,  Delaware  county  ; 
was  graduated  at  ^Westminster  College;  studied  theology  at 
Allegheny,  and  w\as  licensed  in  the  spring  of  1868  by  the  Dela- 
ware Presbytery,  lie  resigned  on  the  8th  of  February,  1876, 
and  is  now  pastor  of  Ryegate,  Vermont.  R.  J.  Cunningham, 
w^as  born  in  West  Deer  township,  Allegheny  county,  i'ennsyl- 
vania,  May  28,  1850  ;  studied  theology  in  Allegheny  ;  was  li- 
censed May  11th,  1876,  by  the  Allegheny  Presljytery,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed,  August  the  23d,  1876,  as  pastor  of  this 
congregation  and  is  still  in  charge. 

Thit^  congregation  was  incorporated,  December  8d,  1838,  as 
the  "First  Associate  Congregation  of  Salem."  In  1822,  they 
erected  their  first  meeting  house,  one  mile  east  of  the  village  of 
Shushan,  and  in  1827,  a  convenient  parsonage  near  the  church. 
In  1848,  tliey  repaired  and  reseated  their  meeting  house,  and  in 
1879,  they  built  a  new  and  beautiful  church  edifice  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Shushan,  mainly  through  the  liberality  of  the  Law 
family. 

At*  the  (organization  of  the  congregation  in  June,  1820,, 
Thomas  Law  and  James  I.  Robertson  were  ordained  and  in- 
stalled as  the  first  ruling  elders.  In  March,  1820,  William 
Dobbin  and  Andrew  Martin  were  added.     On  the  0th  of  Sep- 


154  HISTORY    OF   THE 

toinber,  1832,  Robert  T.  Law  and  John  T.  Law.  lu  (Jctober, 
1845,  John  Dobbin.  On  the  12th  of  September,  1850,  James 
Thompson.  On  the  2d  of  May,  1859,  George  McGeoeh.  On 
the  5th  of  June,  1859,  "William  T.  Foster.  On  the  5th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1871,  Andrew  S.  Foster.  And  in  1877,  David  Do1)bin 
^nd  John  McCollum. 

North  Argyle. 

At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Miller  in  South  Ar- 
gyle, the  families  connected  with  that  congregation,  which  re- 
sided in  the  northern  part  of  the  town,  concluded  that  it  would 
be  better  for  themselves  and  for  some  of  their  neighbors  who 
could  not  go  so  far,  to  provide  the  means  of  grace  nearer  home. 
Some  of  them  had  to  travel  from  seven  to  ten  miles  every  Sab- 
bath. They  jietitioncd  Presbytery  in  the  winter  of  1829,  for  a 
separate  organization,  to  centre  at  the  village  of  North  Ar- 
gyle. This  was  granted,  and  Mr.  Miller  presided  at  anorgani- 
■zation  in  the  sunmier  of  1830,  and  Mr.  White  and  others  sup- 
plied them  pretty  steadily  for  the  next  year.  They  were  not 
many  in  numbers,  only  thirty-two  members,  but  they  were 
generally  farmers  in  comfortable  circumstances ;  and  Mr.  Daniel 
Stevenson  offered  to  pay  one-half  the  salary  and  other  expenses. 
This  he  did  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  a  period  of  some 
twenty  years. 

In  the  early  autumn  of  1831,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Rev. 
Duncan  Stalker,  which  he  accepted,  and  was  installed  during 
the  following  November.  Mr.  Stalker  was  born  in  Comrie, 
Perthshire,  Scotland,  in  1783;  was  licensed  August  the  6th, 
1805,  l)y  the  Associate  (Antiburgher)  Presbytery  of  Perth ; 
was  ordained  and  installed  in  December  1807,  at  Peebles. 
Here  he  remained  for  over  twenty  years,  and  in  1830,  came  to 
the  United  States,  lie  supplied  the  newly  formed  Second  As- 
sociate Congregation  in  New  York  city,  for  a  season  before  set- 
tling in  North  Argyle.  His  ministry  here  was  successful;  the 
^congregation  grew  slowl}-,  but  steadily  and  substantially.  He 
was  a  fellow-student  with  Dr.  Alex.  Bullions  in  Scotland,  and 
renewed  his  friendship  witli  him  here;  became  involved  in  his 
troubles  and  was  deposed  with  him  on  the  12tli  of  April,  1838, 


PRESRYTERY    OF    AlKiYLE.  155 

but  as  he  luul  previously  declined  tlie  jurisdiction  of  the  Pr"  ■- 
i)ytcry  and  withdrawn,  he  paid  no  attention  to  tlie  act.  lie 
and  his  congregation,  w^ith  a  few  exce^jtions,  adhered  to  tiie  new 
Presbj'tery,  known  after  the  re-union  of  l!-i54,  as  the  Second 
Associate  rresl)ytery  of  Cambridge. 

In  1851,  Mr.  Stalker  was  thrown  aside  from  the  duties  (yf  the 
ministry  by  an  attack  of  paralysis,  from  which  he  never  re- 
covered. In  June,  1852,  he  resigned  his  pastoral  charge,  and 
died  on  the  5th  of  December,  1853.  lie  was  an  instructive, 
but  by  no  means  popular,  preacher.  He  was  emphatically  a 
good  man,  full  of  faith  and  devoted  to  the  Master's  work,  and 
his  latter  end  was  peace.  Shortly  before  his  death,  he  stated  to 
the  writer  that  he  felt  uothing  of  that  rapture  which  some  pro- 
fessed to  feel,  but  that  his  faith  and  hope  were  clear,  and  that 
his  mind  was  calm  and  at  peace,  without  either  fear  or  eestacy. 

In  the  spring  of  1853,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr,  AVilliam  E. 
Ilenning,  which  resulted  in  his  ordination  and  installation  in 
June,  and  he  is  still  in  charge,  Mr.  Henning  was  born  in  the 
county  of  Armagh,  in  Ireland,  in  December,  1824,  and  was 
graduated  in  both  his  literary  and  theological  course  in  the 
College  at  Belfast ;  he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newry 
in  1851,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  l!^ovember,  1852. 
He  was  ordained  by  and  remained  under  the  care  of  the  Second 
Presbytery  of  Caml)ridge,  but  in  1855,  he  invited  Mr,  Shortt 
of  Cambridge,  a  friend  of  his  earl}'  youth,  to  preach  for  him 
on  a  Thursday  before  his  communion.  Soon  after  this  Mr. 
David  G,  Bullions  asked  Mr.  Ilenning  to  assist  him,  but  his 
father  demurred  and  expressed  his  displeasure  from  the  pulpit, 
chara'ino;  that  Mr,  Hennino;  had  violated  his  ordination  vows 
I)}'  taking  a  minister  of  another  denomination  into  his  pulpit 
to  preach.  This  gave  offence  to  IS'orth  Argyle,  and  the  con- 
gregation there  with  its  pastor  applied  in  January,  1856,  to  the 
first  Presbytery  of  ('ambridge  for  admission.  This  was  granted, 
but  it  left  the  Second  Presbytery  without  a  working  member- 
ship; so  that  Synod  at  its  next  meeting  consolidated  the  two 
Presbyteries. 

The  present  pastorate  has  been  decidedly  successful,  and  ac- 
cessions have  been  had  at  nearl}',  if  not  every,  communion  sea- 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE 

s<>n,  and  iu  18G7,  and  again  in  1875,  there  was  a  special  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit,  when  as  high  as  forty-one  united  at  a 
time.     The  present  membership  is  two  hundred  and  forty-four. 

In  1830  they  built  their  first  meeting  house  upon  the  site 
still  occupied.  This  was  enlarged  and  remodeled  in  1846.  The 
jiresent  edilice  was  erected  in  1866,  is  forty-live  by  seventy-two 
feet  upon  the  ground,  cost  eleven  thousand  dollars,  and  was  paid 
for  by  the  congregation.  In  183*3  they  built  a  comfortable  par- 
sonage, convenient  to  the  church,  with  an  acre  of  land  attached. 

The  following  persons  have  served  in  the  eldership :  At  the 
organization  in  1830,  Robert  Robertson,  George  Lendrum  and 
John  Stevenson  were  installed.  In  April,  1832,  Nicholas  Rob- 
ertson and  William  Walsh  were  added.  In  1835,  Walter  Edgar, 
Benjamin  Skellie  and  John  Small.  On  the  1st  of  October, 
1853,  William  Doig,  Robert  McGeoch,  David  McDougall  and 
Peter  McEachron.  In  1875,  John  McGeocli,  William  Skellie, 
Daniel  McGowan  and  Samuel  Guthrie. 

East  Greenwich. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1849,  there  was  presented  to  the  Cam- 
bridge Presbytery  "A  iietition  from  a  number  of  members  of  the 
Associate  Church  residing  in  and  near  East  Greenwich,  for  the 
erection  of  a  new  congregation  in  that  vicinity."  This  was 
followed  by  "A  remonstrance  from  the  congregation  of  Argyle 
against  erecting  a  congregation  in  Greenwich."'  "After  hear- 
ing the  Commissioners,  Messrs.  George  Snuill  and  William 
McNeil,  in  favor  of  it,  and  Mr.  John  Disho}),  from  Argyle,  in 
opposition,  the  Presbytery  unanimousl}-  granted  the  petition, 
and  resolve>d  that  the  new  congregation  l)e  called  the  Associate 
Congregation  of  East  Greenwich."'  On  the  30tli  of  May  Mr. 
French,  according  to  l*resbyterial  appointment,  preached  in  East 
Greenwich,  made  out  a  roll  of  members,  and  presided  at  an 
election  of  elders.  On  the  30th  of  August  he  preached  here 
again  and  ordained  Robert  Telford  and  installed  him  and 
Messrs.  S.  ])obbin  and  W.  McNeil,  who  had  been  ordained 
elsewhere.     There  were  fifty- four  members  at  the  organization. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1850,  the  Session  of  the  Hebron 
congregation  petitioned  Presbytery  to  establish  "  a  boundary 


PHESUYTERV    OF    ARGYLE.  157 

lino  botwoeu  tlie  congregation^;  of  Ifebroii  and  East  Urornwieli." 
I'resbvtery  resolved  not  to  grant  the  petition,  and  Mr.  Reid,  of 
Hebron,  entered  Lis  dissent. 

(Jn  the  21st  of  February,  1850,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  Jo- 
seph McKirahan,  and  he  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  23d 
of  the  following  April.  On  the  24th  of  May,  1854,  he  resigned 
and  moved  to  the  west.  Mr.  McKirahan  was  born  August  12, 
1812,  near  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio;  was  graduated  at  Franklin 
College;  studied  theology  at  Canonslnirg,  and  was  licensed  by 
the  J*resbytcry  of  Muskingum  in  1846.  He  died  without 
charge  at  (xlencoe,  Ohio,  on  the  19th  of  November,  1873.  Tie 
became  so  crippled  with  rlieumatism  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to 
move. 

In  April,  1857,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  John  B.  Dunn,  and 
he  was  ordained  and  installed  on  the  12th  of  the  following  No- 
vember. Because  of  continued  ill  health  he  resigned  his  charge 
on  the  24th  of  September,  1861,  and  died  on  the  3d  of  the  suc- 
ceeding February.  Mr.  Dunn  was  born  in  Delaware  county, 
March  17, 1832  ;  was  graduated  at  Jefferson  College  and  studied 
theology  at  Canonsburg  and  Xenia,  and  was  licensed  in  the 
spring  of  1856  by  the  I'resbytery  of  Albany.  lie  was  a  very 
respectalJe  preacher,  was  kind  and  gentle  in  disposition,  and 
was  humble  and  consistent  in  all  his  ways.  His  ministry  was 
short,  but  it  was  devoted,  earnest  and  successful. 

In  June,  1862,  a  call  was  given  to  Mr.  D.  M.  Ure,  which  he 
declined.  Another  call  was  given  in  April,  1863,  to  Mr.  T.  J. 
Wilson,  which  was  also  declined.  Mr.  James  M.  Orr,  was 
called  in  October  of  the  same  year,  and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled on  the  10th  of  March,  1864.  This  pastorate  was  very 
brief,  for  he  died  on  the  18th  of  April,  18G5.  Mr.  Orr  was  the 
grandson  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Dorter,  and  was  born  on  the 
31st  of  ^larch,  1838,  near  Fairhaven,  Preble  county,  Ohio  ;  was 
graduated  at  the  Miami  University;  studied  theology  at  the 
Allegheny  Seminar}'^  and  was  licensed  on  the  1st  of  April,  1862, 
by  tlie  First  Dresbytery  of  Ohio.  Tlie  pastor  uiuler  wdiom  lie 
was  reared  testified  that  "he  had  a  most  amiable  and  gentle 
disposition,  and  as  a  preacher  excelled  in  the  beauty  and  chaste- 
ncss  of  style,  rather  than  in  vigor." 


158  PRESBYTEKY    OF    ARGYLE. 

On  the  2(1  of  January,  1S66,  this  congregation  called  Mr.  ^^'". 
M.  Richie,  but  he  declined;  they  then  called  Mr.  A.  G.  King, 
on  the  8th  of  October,  1867,  and  he  too  declined.  William  R. 
Gladstone  was  called  on  the  oth  of  May,  1868,  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  on  the  8th  of  the  following  September.  After  a 
pleasant  pastorate  his  health  failed,  and  he  resigned  on  the  2d 
of  January,  1877,  and  died  on  the  13th  of  the  following  montli. 
He  was  born  in  Andes,  Xew  York,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1840  ; 
was  graduated  at  Monmouth,  Illinois  ;  studied  theology  at  Al- 
legheny, and  was  licensed  in  April,  1866,  by  the  Delaware  Pres- 
bytery. The  Rev.  George  T.  Galbraith,  was  called  on  the  8th 
of  May,  1877,  and  was  installed  on  the  27th  of  June.  Mr. 
Galbraith  was  born  in  Barnet,  Vermont ;  was  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  College,  !N'ew  Hampshire;  studied  theology  at  IS'ew- 
burgh;  was  licensed  April  15th,  1874,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Vermont;  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  127th 
street  congregation  in  New  York,  September  2lst,  1875,  by  the 
First  Presbytery  of  New  York. 

Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  congregation,  they 
began  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice,  and  commenced  holding 
public  services  in  it  in  December  of  the  same  year.  In  due 
time  a  comfortable  parsonage  property  was  provided. 

Samuel  Dobbin  and  William  McNeill,  previrtjusly  ordained  in 
South  Argyle,  were  installed  at  the  complete  organization  of 
the  church  on  the  30th  of  August,  1849.  Robert  Telford  was 
ordained  and  installed  on  the  same  day.  On  the  6th  of  March, 
1851,  Alexander  Small  and  Andrew  Randies  were  added.  On 
the  24th  of  November,  1859,  John  Beveridge,  John  Arnott  and 
James  Harper.  On  the  25th  of  March,  1869,  Nelson  Keefer, 
John  Maxwell,  Robert  Maxwell  and  Archibald  Len<lrum.  On 
the  1st  of  February,  1877,  John  Cowan,  John  McGeoch,  James 
McMorris  and  James  Small. 


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